Yotsuki Naruto
by colbogey
Summary: Kumo tried to kidnap Kushina as a child, and Hinata as a child. In this story, inspired by other stories found on this site where Naruto is raised in Suna and Kiri, Kumo ends up kidnapping Naruto instead of attempting to kidnap Hinata. He is raised as a member of the Yotsuki clan. First attempt at Fanfiction. Writing improves as the story goes on.
1. Prelude Part 1: Target Acquired!

-I don't own Naruto. Naruto was created by Kishimoto, please support the official release. Thanks for reading my first attempt at fan fiction-

 _Italics are thoughts. -Italics inside hyphens are the setting-_

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 _-Kumogakure, The Raikage's Office, just over a year after the Kyuubi attacked Konoha-_

A was a powerful and intimidating man. The 4th Raikage had been in office for only a couple years, since his father had passed during the 3rd Shinobi war, but he had already secured his power base. Through his will he had made sure that the Hidden Cloud had survived the 3rd Shinobi War in a relatively strong position, despite the fact that it had been on the losing side. Now, surrounded by advisors, he was embarking on an ambitious plan to secure his village's future.

"Konoha wants the world to believe they are still strong despite the Kyuubi attack, however our spies in the village report that, while stronger than expected, Konoha is weak. They may have won the war, but they suffered heavy losses, and then less than a year later their Bijuu decimates their village and kills their Hokage. They are weak."

His advisors stared back at him, curious where he was going with this. He continued:"There also seems to have been a baby boom after the end of the war, and many of the clan heads now have infant children. I've had our spies prepare a list of children of interest that we might consider kidnapping in order to gain their Kekkai Genkai for our village. My brother will now report their findings."

Upon hearing this many of the assembled Clan heads and important administrators were visibly shocked, though others looked pleased. Either way they knew there was nothing they could do. Kumo's council had little power compared to Konoha's, and they were essentially just advisors, with no power to enact anything.

Killer B stood to address the room. "As my brother said, Konoha shinobi been getting a lot of head!" B started in his normal quasi rapping voice before a stern look from his brother made him switch to a normal speech style, something that B hated, but considered it worth it in order to avoid getting chewed out in front of the council again.

"Almost all of Konoha's major clan heads have had children in the last year, however many of those clans use secret techniques or are bonded to animals, which would make it difficult for us to gain their Kekkai Genkai. As such our spies have ruled out the infant children of the Aburame, Akimichi, Inuzuka, Nara, and Yamanaka clans. Scouts have settled on the heir of the Uchiha Clan, Sasuke, born approximately 2.5 months before the Kyuubi attack, and the heiress of the Hyuuga Clan, Hinata, born approximately 2.5 months after the Kyuubi attack" B reported.

"What of the Sarutobi Clan?" enquired the head of the Yotsuki clan, the most powerful of Kumo's clans. "The Sarutobi Clan's main family has not had a child. The 3rd Hokage is the head of the clan, and his children are all teenagers, which is too old to kidnap, but not old enough for them to have children yet. Furthermore, their abilities also seem to be the results of clan secrets, not genetics."

B then paused before continuing in a more subdued tone, seemingly unsure of what he was about to bring up: "There is one other child our spies think may be of interest, though they can't confirm anything, and the child is not a member of a clan.""What makes them think we would be interested then?" A enquired.

"This child is an orphan who was born on the day of the Kyuubi attack. The orphanage the child is in seems to despise the child, but the 3rd Hokage seems to have a special interest in the child, as there are always at least 2 ANBU watching him, and they interfere whenever the orphanage, or anyone else, tries to kill him. My brother has long believed that Konoha lied about the 4th Hokage killing the Kyuubi, and our spies seem to believe this child may be the new Jinchuuriki. Our spies also report that this child has bright blue eyes and blond hair."

The implication was not lost on those in the room. "Our spies are implying that this child is not only the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi but also the child of the 4th Hokage, solely due to circumstantial evidence concerning his appearance, birthday, and status within the village?" asked the head of another clan. "Yes." "What is the child's name" a village elder asked. "Naruto Uzumaki" responded a solemn B. The room grew quiet for a few minutes as everyone digested the news.

After a few minutes of contemplation A decided to assert his authority. "It seems we have 3 questions to answer. 1st, do we agree with the spies that this child is the Jinchuuriki and/or the son of Namikaze? 2nd, should this child be a target? 3rd, What about the Uchiha and Hyuuga heirs?"

"The evidence for Uzumaki is circumstantial, however I have even more circumstantial evidence to add to it" spoke the head of Kumo's ANBU, known by the codename 'X'. "Namikaze Minato was married to a member of the Uzumaki Clan, and our spies noted that in the months before the Kyuubi attack she rarely appeared in public, perhaps in order to hid a pregnancy."

"Furthermore the name Naruto is the name of the main character in Namikaze's Sensei's 1st book." added Dodai, one of the most influential men in the room. "The question is then why wouldn't this child be acknowledged as the 4th's son? Surely that would change the way the people of Konoha view the child, much like our own citizens changed their view of B-sama after he came to be viewed as a hero." added the Yotsuki clan head.

"That is likely due to the fact that if Iwa knew that Namikaze-san had a child that old bastard Onoiki would stop at nothing to kill him" said A, after a pause he continued: "I normally don't do this, but I want to gauge your opinions. How many of you believe that this child is most likely the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi and/or the child of Minato Namikaze?" Almost everyone in the room raised their hands. "Thank you, I'll make my own decisions from here on out. Everyone except X and B are dismissed." "Hai, Raikage-Sama" responded the other members of the council as they left the room.

A few minutes later A addressed his brother and the ANBU head "From here on we will assume that the child is in fact both a Jinchuuriki and the son of Namikaze" he stated. "I'd like us to consider all three of the children now."

"Raikage-sama, I do not believe we should pursue the Uchiha, Fugaku, the boy's father, is strong, and we had a flee-on-sight order for him during the war, much like the 'Yellow Flash', I do not think we should anger him by kidnapping his son. Furthermore I do not believe we should push our luck and try for multiple children, even if they are in a weakened state it will be difficult for us to infiltrate Konoha, we should focus on either the Namikaze or the Hyuuga." stated 'X' very matter-of-factly. Seeing his Kage nod in understanding, the ANBU head continued:

"Of the two I think the Namikaze would be easiest to kidnap, his caretakers hate him, and he is not protected by a clan compound. We would only have to deal with his ANBU guards." "I agree with you X" stated A. "On the other hand the child does not posses a Kekkai Genkai that we could adopt into our village."

"True, Raikage-sama, however we would gain a 3rd Tailed Beast, giving us more than any other village, furthermore if he is indeed half Uzumaki he may have a 'pseudo-Kekkai Genkai'. After all the Uzumaki clan was known for having both naturally high chakra reserves and a natural talent for Sealing Jutsu. Sealing Jutsu may not be one of the '3 Shinobi Battle tactics' but it is an extremely powerful area of shinobi arts, and one that our village is relatively weak in. Furthermore to the best of our knowledge our village is the only one to figure out a process for giving our Jinchuuriki control of their tailed beasts, thanks to B-sama's efforts. The process he developed seems to work based on the success that our young Kunoichi is enjoying currently in her training to control the 2-tails."

A digested X's words before turning to his adoptive brother "B, I'm assuming you feel the same way?" "You know it Bro, we need to save that fool from the hatred of all those other fools!" exclaimed B, his style of speaking starting to revert back to normal now that the council was dismissed.

A nodded, "I agree too, I had the utmost respect for Minato Namikaze, we fought on multiple occasions during the war, and in addition to being the only man who could match my speed he was a man of honor and integrity. I considered him my rival and was sad to learn of his passing." A was silent for a moment, collecting his thoughts, before he slammed a fist down on the table.

"We will not allow Konoha distort his legacy, we will bring the Namikaze child here." Stated the Raikage in a powerful, determined tone. "The three of us will plan the mission, but ultimately it will be ANBU who complete it. X, I want your 3 best infiltrators to stop going on missions and to begin to prepare for this mission. Failure will likely result in a renewed war with Konoha and its allies."

X simply nodded, as A continued: "On the other hand we seem to be losing allies. Iwa is devastated, and I don't trust them anyways, meanwhile Kiri seems to be slowly heading towards civil war. We're better off than both Konoha and Suna individually, but won't be able to stand against them and their minor allies ourselves, so failure is not an option."

"Hai, Raikage-sama" responded a grim sounding X. "Hold on little man, while we come up with a killer plan! Fool! Ya Fool!" rapped B. "Shut up B!" yelled an obviously annoyed A at his adopted little brother. The three then stayed up late into the night, planning a kidnapping, or as they viewed it, a rescue operation.

 _-_ End of Prelude _-_

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Welcome to my first attempt at Fanfiction. As I'm writing this the story stands at a little over 70,000 words, with over 80 favorites and 100 followers. I know that's nothing to brag about, especially compared to some of the real fantastic works on this site, but it's farther than I ever thought this story would get, so I'm thankful. My writing and storytelling has improved over the course of the story (at least in my opinion), and I'm really pleased with what I see as noticeable improvement in the later chapters. Now I'm slowly going back and fixing things. Formatting problems, Grammar issues that I missed (I'm sure I'll still be missing some after this edit). I'm sure I still have some work to do in breaking out of my normal, super technical/academic/scholarly writing style that doesn't really lend itself to effective storytelling, but I'm looking forward to the challenge.

A few hours ago I published the Third Interlude, and Chapter 13 is almost done, and will be out in a couple of weeks. I'll also be getting started on Chapter 14 before too long, and as I mentioned I'm in the process of (slowly) going back and fixing things in these early chapters. For those of you who have been with me since day 1, thank you. For those of you who are new, welcome, and I hope you enjoy the story.

Thanks for reading,

-Col. Bogey


	2. Prelude Part 2: The Abduction Ballet!

-I don't own Naruto. Naruto was created by Kishimoto, please support the official release. Thanks for reading my first attempt at fan fiction-

 _Italics are thoughts. -Italics inside hyphens are the setting-_

* * *

 _-Konoha, 3 months later-_

It had not been too difficult for the 3 Kumo ANBU to infiltrate Konoha. They posed as civilian merchants from a small village in the land of Rice Paddies, and went immediately to a hotel owned by a Kumo then began surveillance.

It didn't take too long to realize that there were 3 Konoha ANBU teams watching Naruto, working in 12 hour shifts, with one team having a day off, though being "on call" in case something happened. _I can't believe how stupid Konoha is. Their ANBU masks don't hide identities of shinobi with distinctive hair. One of the ANBU is obviously the famed Copy Ninja Kakashi_ , they all thought.

Within a week of arriving in Konoha they had learned the schedule of when each individual Konoha ANBU was on "Naruto Duty". They also learned that Kakashi was the only ANBU who actually cared about Naruto's well being, and it was easy to plan around his work schedule. They resolved to make the abduction during the day, after Kakashi had worked a 12 hour shift and would likely be sleeping.

By posing as a couple looking to adopt, 2 of the Kumo ANBU had learned that as much as the headmistress of the Orphanage wanted to be rid of Naruto she was not allowed to have anyone adopt him. They also learned that she was corrupt, and despised the baby. Soon they approached her with an offer: They would "take care" of her demon problem for her in exchange for being given preferential treatment for adopting another child. The clueless, slightly naive headmistress was only too eager to agree.

Soon a pattern had been established. The ANBU posing as a couple would arrive at the orphanage and they, Naruto, and the other child would be shown to a back room. Once there one of the ANBU would make a shadow clone that then Henged into baby Naruto while another ANBU cast a genjutsu on the baby Naruto, making him appear like a young girl. The 2 ANBU, the disguised Naruto, and other child would then go on a walk, pushing the disguised Naruto in a stroller around the village, or they would play in the orphanage playground. They always did this when Kakashi was off shift, knowing the other Konoha ANBU would ignore Naruto as long as no one was trying to kill him.

They were able to lull the Konoha ANBU into a false sense of normalcy, into thinking the Kumo ANBU were a couple of civilians who were serious about adopting Konoha war orphans. The other child, a 3 year old named Takeru, believed this was all just a game his soon-to-be parents were playing, and gleefully kept it a secret.

The original plan had just been to kill this child after the group escaped from the Land of Fire, however one of the ANBU decided he legitimately wanted to adopt the child. He knew his fiancé back home would agree, as they had actually been discussing adoption.

Finally, after 2 and a half weeks in Konoha, the Kumo ANBU executed their plan. At 7am on a cloudy morning Kakashi Hatake's shift ended, he had the next 2 shifts off. At 10 am the 3 Kumo-nin checked out of their hotel. One, the squad leader, moved to a cafe near the entrance to the village while the two posing as a couple headed to the orphanage to "finalize" adoption paperwork.

Soon the 2, Takeru, and a henged Naruto were heading out of the village, leaving a shadow clone henged as Naruto in the orphanage, while their squad leader watched from the Cafe. An hour later he too left the village. Moving quickly they rendezvoused several miles away, and within the day were outside the Land of Fire. When the Konoha ANBU shift switched at 7pm that night the new team had no Uchiha or Hyuuga on it, granted none of the ANBU except Kakashi actually used their dojutsu to keep an eye on the "demon child" while on guard duty. Unless it was clear the child's life was in danger they tended to hang out in a tree across the street and ignore what happened inside the building, but the Kumo-nin had decided to air on the side of caution.

Once the ANBU shift changed the shadow clone released itself, knowing that Naruto's disappearance wouldn't be discovered until Kakashi returned the next day. The Orphanage's headmistress left the village, stating she was going to take a couple of days vacation, leaving her assistant in charge. In reality, she was fleeing Konoha, she knew her life would be in jeopardy once the "demon's" absence was noted, and while she believed she had duped some dumb small town merchants into dealing with the demon, and was relieved at its impending demise, she wasn't about to stay and face the consequences.

One week later Kumo's shinobi council convened in the Raikage's office, perched on a table in the middle of the room was a sleeping, nearly 2 year old Naruto. The council gleefully encouraged the Raikage to sign off on the ANBU and his wife adopting Takeru, before turning their attention back to Naruto.

"We must find a home for this boy." Stated the Raikage. "It must be a loving home, I will not allow my greatest rival's son to go to a home that will hate him because he is a Jinchuuriki. B has already offered to raise him, but I don't believe my brother is mature enough. Either way as Naruto grows up his adopted family must allow B and Yugito to be a part of his life, I want him to view those two as siblings. Furthermore I am declaring his heritage and his status as a Jinchuuriki an S class secret, so his new family must not be merely seeking prestige."

"Raikage-Sama" spoke the head of the Yotsuki clan, Gennai. "My younger brother and his wife have not had any success in having children. They are reliable shinobi and have no hatred for either of our current Jinchuuriki. Our whole clan views B-sama as a hero. Let my brother and sister-in-law adopt him. Let the Yotsuki clan raise him."

Seeing many others nod in approval A spoke in a declamatory tone: "So it shall be, from now on this child shall be known as Naruto Yotsuki, adopted son of Koushiro and Sora Yotsuki. Nephew of Gennai Yotsuki, head of the Yotsuki clan, and cousin of the Yotsuki Clan heiress Hikari. Any who reveals Naruto's secret will be sentenced to a slow and painful death. Furthermore, while his name will still be Naruto, in public he will go by the code name 'Z'. I am making his actual name an A rank secret known only to the people in this room, his clan, and eventually his sensei and genin team mates. You are all dismissed, take him home Gennai-san." He proclaimed, motioning for Gennai to hold the boy, "Thank You, Raikage-Sama." Gennai responded.

-End of Prelude-

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Original Commentary: As this is being published I'm actually all the way up to chapter 5 in writing, and I've noticed that I tend to unconsciously (or sometimes consciously) make references to things. For example the title of this Chapter: The Abduction Ballet, is a reference to the musical "The Fantasticks". I don't think there are any others in the Preludes, but once chapter 1 is up see if you can find any more! Thanks for reading my first attempt at fan-fiction.

Update Commentary:

Apparently when I first published this I had three different ways of spelling Yotsuki. Yatsuki, Yotsuki, and Yottsuki. Wow. Hopefully I fixed all of them in this prelude.

Also: A lot of people asked how non Konoha shinobi know the Shadow Clone Technique. Simply put, according to Narutopedia, my source for a lot of information, there are several non Konoha shinobi who know the technique. How? I don't know. It's not common, but it's there. So the same thing applies here. One Kumo ANBU knows it, Naruto and maybe a couple of other non Konoha Shinobi will know it, but it's not common. Perhaps later I'll come up with an in universe reason for it...

Next time that I have a an hour or two to spare on editing and formatting I'll continue this revision process with Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 part 1, but for now that's it.

Thanks for reading,

-Col. Bogey


	3. Chapter 1: Those Genin Days

-I don't own Naruto. Naruto was created by Kishimoto, please support the official release. Thanks for reading my first attempt at fan fiction-

 _Italics are thoughts. -Italics inside hyphens are the setting-_

* * *

 _-October 10th, Approximately 12 years later-_

"Naruto-kun, wake up, breakfast is ready." A pair of deep blue eyes shot open. "Be down in a minute, Kaa-san." a voice that was clearly going through puberty yelled back. After a shower and a few quick stretches a boy dressed and then looked himself over in the mirror. At about 5' 1" tall he was a bit shorter than the average boy his age, but he had just started his puberty induced growth spurt. He had medium length spiky blond hair and wore the standard blue and white uniform worn by most Kumo ninja. He also wore the standard headband marking him as a shinobi of Kumogakure.

Satisfied with his appearance he went to the dining room to find his adoptive parents waiting for him. "Happy 14th Birthday, Son" Sora Yotsuki exclaimed, embracing her son. The 40 year old woman with long blonde hair had been shocked on that day a little over 12 years before, when her brother-in-law had brought Naruto home for her and her husband, but after getting over the initial shock she had quickly fallen in love.

Sora had been exposed to poison during the 3rd Shinobi War, and had nearly died. Kumo medical-nin had been able to save her life, but not before the poison, believed to be the creation of Suna's famed puppet master Chiyo, had wreaked havoc on her body. Many of her internal organs had been severely damaged, and she had required a kidney transplant. Parts of her reproductive system was damaged beyond repair, and had to be removed, leaving her unable to have children, much to her devastation. She had also been forced to retire from her shinobi life. Despite her husband's best efforts she became very depressed afterwards, and only the blonde baby's sudden insertion into her life had given her renewed purpose.

As Naruto broke free from his mother he felt a hand on his shoulder. "Happy Birthday, Naruto" said his father, Koushiro. Koushiro was 42, and as the younger brother of the Yotsuki clan head was himself an important and influential member of the clan. He stood at 6' even had short brown hair and deep hazel eyes."Mom, Dad, thanks" said Naruto in a soft voice. He had known since age 8 that he was adopted, but not knowing anything about his origins he felt nothing for love for the two people who had raised him, and he considered them his real parents.

30 minutes later, after a wonderful breakfast Naruto was preparing to leave. As a genin he had to meet up with his team. "Now don't forget Naruto, the clan is holding your coming of age ceremony tonight, so don't be late." Naruto nodded, and eager, some might say 'foxy' grin on his face "got it Kaa-san." "Say hi to B-sama for me." "Sure thing Otosan, Bye!" called Naruto as he raced out the door.

As Naruto walked through the streets of Kumo a few people recognized him and greeted him, some, who knew it was his birthday, congratulated him. Naruto was somewhat well known in Kumo. Very few people in Kumo knew anything about his heritage or "tenant", most didn't actually know his real first name. Instead he was known by the codename "Z", but as a member of Kumo's most powerful clan he had developed a bit of a reputation, and was considered a promising young genin. Naruto never understood why his last name and clan affiliation were public knowledge yet his first name was an A rank secret, but he had given up questioning it long ago.

Naruto had grown up in a loving, supportive environment, and thus didn't know hatred. That being said Naruto always had a chip on his shoulder. While he loved his adoptive parents he always felt that he wasn't a true member of his clan, in part due to his adoption, but mostly because he was unable to use his clan's Kekkei Genkai.

While not as well known as Kumo's most famous Kekkai Genkai, Storm release, the Kekkai Genkai of the Yotsuki clan was very useful. Yotsuki Clan members could "hear" chakra. Making them excellent tracking ninja. They were able to tell what nature transformation(s) a shinobi had just by listening to them, and could also detect residual chakra of individuals up to several hours after said individual had last been in an area. In combat they were able to hear chakra being molded or infused, allowing them to predict what technique their opponent was going to use. This ability also aided clan members in learning new jutsu. They also possessed secret clan techniques, mostly aural based Genjutsu.

Naruto's father and uncle had attempted to teach him the secret techniques, but his chakra control was so terrible that he had been unable to learn any of them. This motivated Naruto, and his chakra control had improved, but was still nowhere near the lever required to use Yotsuki clan Genjutsu, which only furthered Naruto's worries that he would never fit in with the clan. His goal was to one day become Raikage, proving once and for all that despite his unknown origins he was a true Kumo ninja and Yotsuki clan member. He strived to repay and protect the village and clan that had given him so much.

Kumo's Training ground 28 was on the shores of a lake, and as the personal training ground of the Raikage's brother was the meeting place for Kumo's Gennin Team 2. Killer B himself was the Jonin leader, and his students were Omoi, Karui, and Naruto Yotsuki. B, Omoi, and Karui were already there when their blond teammate ran up to them.

"Yo, Naruto, Happy Birthday! Party-all-the-way! Fool, Ya Fool!" In the last 12 years. B, now 34, had not gotten any better at rapping, but was now even rapping during the most serious of council meetings, much to his brother's chagrin. "Happy Birthday Baka-kun" said Karui, the red haired kunoichi while sporting a cheeky grin. "Happy Birthday Naruto, don't let the lake monster eat you" said Omoi.

When Naruto had first met Omoi back in the Kumo Academy he hadn't been sure if Omoi was just a class clown or a legitimate conspiracy theorist, but as they grew closer he came to accept that his best friend was paranoid, possibly insane, and that was fine. "B-sensei, Karui-chan, Omoi, Thank You! I'm the same age as you now Karui-chan, and older than you Omoi!" "Baka, we were all born in the same year. Me in February, you in October, and Omoi in December, don't make such a big deal of it!" said Karui. While she often lamented the fact that one of her teammates was paranoid and the other was loud, obnoxious, and not that bright, she had come to view her teammates as two of her closest friends.

"Alright you three, you'd better listen to me, the hip rapper Killer Bee! Raikage-sama wants to see us, Don't want Oni-san to fuss, if we are late he'll cuss! Fools, Ya Fools!" When Team 2 had been formed the 3 Genin had mixed reactions to their Sensei's terrible rap. Karui had alway hated it from the beginning, and eventually Omoi, and finally Naruto, had gone from thinking it was cool, to realizing how horrible it was. Now they just ignored it. "All right, let's go see Raikage-oji-sama then, I wonder if he wants to wish me a happy birthday too!" yelled a jubilant Naruto.

-End of Chapter-

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Original Commentary:

References from the Preludes:  
"The Abduction Ballet" A piece of music from "The Fantasticks"

Gennai, Takeru, Hikari: Characters from my favorite childhood tv show: Digimon Adventure, expect more references from this.

Most of my information comes from Narutopedia. For example from that site I learned that Kumo has a clan called the Yotsuki clan, which I've Naruto an adoptive member of.

Update Commentary:

Chapters will get longer as the story goes on. Currently I seem to be most comfortable writing chapters in the 4-6k word range.

I remember someone left a review or a pm complaining that I called 5'1" 'a little bit short for his age' and the person went on a bit of a rant about it. I jsut want to say that I did actually google search what the average age of a 14 year old boy is. Also since in the original story Naruto was 14 during the time skip (left at 13, returned at 15) I just picked an arbitrary number in between the height Narutopedia lists him at during part 1 and during part 2. Thus, based on that google search and that number I came to the conclusion that he was a little bit shorter than average. (Don't ask my to find that search result again, this was back in September and it's now late December, I don't remember which search result(s) I used.)

Thanks for reading,

-Col. Bogey


	4. Chapter 2: Birthday Revelations

-I don't own Naruto. Naruto was created by Kishimoto, please support the official release. Thanks for reading my first attempt at fan fiction-

 _Italics are thoughts. -Italics inside hyphens are the setting-_

* * *

 _-The Raikage's Office-_

A was in a good mood. Knowing it was Naruto's birthday he was thinking back on his decision to have Naruto brought to Kumo. _It has worked out well. None of the other villages know we have him or the Kyuubi, Konoha seems to think he is dead, he's treated like a regular person here, and Minato's legacy is much better off than if he had stayed in Konoha._

As time went on A had come to respect his former foe the 4th Hokage even more. After all he had the guts to turn his own child into a jinchuuriki. A didn't have a child, and was a brother of a jinchuuriki, but even he didn't think he'd be able to do something like that. _Yes this was a good thing. The Byakugan would have been nice, but I think this has worked out better. Even the unexpected addition of the other boy, Takeru, has worked out. He made Chuunin at Iwa's exams 4 months ago. It's worked well. Still, we can't let the secret out yet. It's too soon into the 5th Hokage's reign. The Senju princess is known to have a temper, and Konoha has been backed into a bit of a corner since Orochimaru attacked them. Still, I'm surprised by how quickly they seem to be recovering..._ His thoughts were interrupted as his brother and his squad entered the office.

"Yo Bro, let's hear what you know…" "SHUT UP B!" A yelled while releasing a wave of killing intent, he hated his brother's rapping. "Now then, first of all Happy Birthday, Yotsuki-san." "Arigato Raikage-sama" Naruto replied, trying to be as formal as possible after the terrifying display A had given just moments before.

A smiled, _When I let out killer intent he doesn't call me Oji, good to know_. Naruto had taken to calling A Oji, because he viewed the Raikage as part of his family. A always looked out for Naruto, and even tried to teach him Fuinjutsu occasionally. Naruto wasn't sure why, but A seemed to think he could be good at it, and that boosted Naruto's confidence.

"Now then, as for why you are here. As you know 4 months ago Iwa hosted the Chuunin exams, and in 2 months time we will be hosting the next round. My brother and I agree that you three are ready, and we would like you to participate in the exams."

"Yes!" Exclaimed Naruto, "Hikari-chan became a chunin at the last exams, I have to catch up to her!" Karui, who despite the fact that she was often annoyed with Naruto's antics could be just as emotional and excitable as him, also loudly exclaimed her eagerness. "I'm in too Raikage-sama, but how do we know Iwa won't attack us just like Suna did to Konoha?" asked the ever paranoid Omoi. "The difference is that Konoha trusted Suna and let their guard down, we have never trusted Iwa, it has always been an alliance of convenience" stated the Raikage.

"Raikage-oji-sama, why don't we participate in the same exams as Konoha, Suna, and Kiri? They are all major nations just like us." asked a curious Naruto. "It goes back to the Third Shinobi war, Naruto. We were allied with Iwa and several minor villages against Konoha, Suna, and several minor villages. Iwa and Konoha absolutely despise each other, and Suna also despises Iwa, so after the war those nations refused to participate in Iwa's exams and vice versa. The minor nations went with their major allies and soon we had two distinct sets of exams. Technically speaking our relationship with Konoha and Suna isn't as bad, so we could participate in their exams, but since we also invite Iwa they refuse to participate in ours, and we have other reasons for not participating in theirs." _Like making sure they don't discover that you are here,_ thought the Raikage.

"What about Kiri then? And if we don't trust Iwa why do we invite them?" "Baka!" exclaimed Karui as she slapped Naruto "Everybody knows that. Kiri was never allied with us, they declared war against Konoha on their own. Now they are in the middle of a civil war, so they have more important things on their minds than the Chunin Exams. As for Iwa we may not trust them, but we are allied with them, so we need to at least pretend to be nice." "But why are we allied with them if we don't trust them?"

A had nodded at Karui's responses to Naruto's previous question (and chuckled at her reaction to it) and quickly took over the conversation again: "Simple, they hate Konoha. While we don't hate Konoha per say they are the only village strong enough to be a threat to us, so we stayed allied to Iwa as an insurance policy. They stay allied to us because as much as they hate Konoha they aren't strong enough to face Konoha alone."

A paused for a moment, but seeing Naruto nod in understanding he continued: "Anyways for the next two months you'll no longer be doing missions, and focusing all your time on training. Omoi, as a kenjutsu specialist you'll be doing one on one training with my brother, since he is the best swordsman in the village. Karui, you'll be training with a jonin named Samui, she is our strongest kunoichi. As for you Naruto, you'll be going on a trip to tackle some very special training."

With that he called to one of his assistants: "Mabui, send in Naruto's teacher". The door opened and a blond woman walked into the Raikage's office. "Nee-Chan! Where have you been? You're my new sensei?!" yelled an ecstatic Naruto as he rushed over and hugged the kunoichi.

"Hey Gaki, how are you?" Asked the two-tails Jinchuuriki, Yugito Nii, as she returned the hug. "Sorry I haven't been around, been busy on missions. B-sama is still your team leader and main sensei, I'm just helping out so that the three of you can all get one on one attention during the next 2 months. Happy Birthday by the way." "Thanks nee-chan. Raikage-oji-sama said I was going to get special training. What is it?".

Yugito sent a pensive glance to A, who nodded "Go ahead Yugito-san, Naruto's squad already knows the A-rank secret, they know the consequences of revealing secrets of our village. They can be trusted with this S-rank secret." Yugito was clearly shocked to learn that A trusted two genin so much, but nodded in understanding.

"Hai, Raikage-sama. So you two already know the A-rank secret concerning Naruto's name. Publicly he goes by the codename Z, and only a few people outside of the Yotsuki clan know Naruto's actual name. As for the S-rank secret...to answer your question Naruto I am going to teach you how to control your bijuu."

Karui and Omoi were both stunned at the revelation. "Wait, Naruto is a Jinchuuriki too?" asked an incredulous Karui. Omoi, ever paranoid, wasn't so concerned at the fact that his best friend was a jinchuuriki so much as how he became one. "Wait a minute. We already have two. B-sensei and you Yugito-san. We have 2, Iwa has 2, Kiri has 2, and Konoha, Taki, and Suna, all have 1. That's 9. How is Naruto a jinchuuriki?"

Naruto pensively looked towards his friends, scared that the revelation would impact their friendship. "I have the Kyuubi sealed inside me." Answered a solemn Naruto. He had heard how B and Yugito were both treated before they came to be considered heroes, and was scared of his teammates starting to act like that. "I don't know how I ended up the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, but despite what Konoha says the 4th Hokage didn't destroy it, I somehow have it. I...I hope that's ok, I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys, but as nee-chan said, it's an S-class secret."

Both Karui and Omoi had calmed down, and quickly let Naruto know that it didn't change how they viewed him, he was still Naruto. "Raikage-sama, how did the Fox end up in Naruto?" asked Omoi. "That is also an S-class secret, and none of you are ready for it. I can count the number of people who know that secret on my fingers."

He paused, and gave the three a harsh glare for impact "Remember, just the fact that Naruto is a jinchuuriki is an S-class secret, and if word gets out it could put his life, and this village in danger. Anyone who speaks of it is guaranteed a slow, painful death." Karui and Omoi audibly gulped.

There was a brief and awkward silence, before Karui asked "Who all knows about the fox?" "Everyone in this room, his parents, the head of the Yotsuki-clan, all the Yotsuki jonin, Mabui, Darui, X, C, Dodai, and a few other members of my council of advisors" said the Raikage.

A then attempted to lighten the mood, and change the subject. "Back to the training, Naruto, just so you know, I don't want you to use the Kyuubi chakra during the exams, in fact I don't want you to ever use it around people who don't know the secret unless your life depends on it. This training is so you can get control of it and it won't accidentally leak out."

Naruto bowed, pleased that A seemed to trust him so much. "Understood, Raikage-oji-sama, thank you for putting enough trust in me to allow me to learn how to use it." "You've earned it kid. Now then, you and Yugito-san will leave one week from today, and that is when Omoi and Karui will begin their one on one training. The three of you have the rest of the day off today, and will resume team training with B tomorrow until it is time to begin your individual trainings. You three are dismissed, B, Yugito-san, please stay here."

-End of Part 1 of this chapter-

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Original Commentary:

CH. 1 References/Easter Eggs:  
Those Genin Days: A reference to "Those Canaan Days" from the musical "Joseph & The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat." I don't actually like the show, but in high school I played in the pit orchestra for it, and now a decade later that song still pops up in my head every now and again, much to my dismay.

Koshiro and Sora: Digimon Adventure characters.

Z: Right now this is not a reference, but I just realized that Naruto will be decent with a sword, and of course Z stands for Zorro (aka Don Diego de la Vega), a fictional swordsman created in 1919 by Johnston McCulley, that has been the star of many films throughout the years, most recently in 2005. There was also a Disney produced TV show in the 1950s. So maybe this will end up being a reference. I'm not sure yet as I literally just now realized the potential connection.

Also, this story has been out less than 2 hours, and I already received a helpful review. I just wanted to say thanks, and tell my reviewer that I can't yet respond, as this site does not allow accounts to send private messages until they are at least 24 hours old. I'll try to send a response tomorrow or this weekend, depending on time. Which, as a graduate student, I don't have a lot of.

Update Commentary:

Not sure why I decided to split this chapter into two parts. I think at the time I was trying to go for lots of short chapters, as opposed to fewer, but longer ones. Not that my chapters are particularly long now, but they are certainly longer.

Thanks for reading,

-Col. Bogey


	5. Chapter 2, Part 2: Of Gifts and Clans

-I don't own Naruto. Naruto was created by Kishimoto, please support the official release. Thanks for reading my first attempt at fan fiction-

 _Italics are thoughts. -Italics inside hyphens are the setting-_

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After meeting with the Raikage the three genin headed out to lunch. Since it was Naruto's birthday he got to pick the restaurant. Unsurprisingly, the three found themselves in Kumogakure's best Ramen shop: Takahashi Ramen Stop.

"Well if it isn't my best customer...happy birthday Z, first bowl on me!" said the shop's owner, Taichi Takahashi. Like most of the village Taichi was unaware of Naruto's actual name, but it didn't bother him. Many Kumo ninja went by code names, some even had had actual names that sounded like code-names. A of course was the traditional name for the Raikage, with B and C as the codenames for his bodyguards. X was traditionally the codename for the head of the Anbu, but many other ninja were given letters, or even numbers for codenames, which they used in public.

A particularly notable example of a Kumo-nin using a number as a code name was a bald jonin who often wore glasses and a red sweater, who went by the name "Numbah 1", and was known as one of Kumo's best strategists.

Naruto dug into his 2nd bowl of Miso Ramen as Omoi handed him a small box. "Happy Birthday Z, this is from me". Naruto excitedly opened it to find a small chakra blade. While he wasn't as proficient in kenjutsu as either Omoi or his Sensei Naruto was quite good with blades, and as he had recently begun working on mastering his wind element he instantly knew the potential applications of the small knife that could take on additional properties when infused with chakra.

"Wow, so cool, thanks Omoi!". "Here, Baka-kun, happy birthday." said Karui, while handing Naruto a small envelope. While it was odd to add something like kun onto what was an usually an insult like bakka, Karui thought it perfectly summed up what she thought of Naruto. He was an idiot, but he was her idiot, in a platonic, sibling-esque way. Calling him that also meant she never had to worry about messing up and saying his real name in public.

Naruto opened the envelope and squealed with joy. Inside was a set of gift certificates to the very ramen shop they were eating in. "Wow, Karui-chan, thanks so much!" "You know I won't let you use one of those today, Z. Raikage-sama called ahead and told me to put everything you ordered on his tab as his birthday present." Taichi said while he watched the proceedings.

Naruto was on his 4th bowl when B and Yugito walked into the shop with their presents. "Hey Birthday boy, have some joy, may I present, your pres-ent" rapped B as he handed Naruto a long box. Naruto set the box down and opened it. Inside was a brand new katana, and Naruto just about knocked his ramen over due to his glee.

Yugito gave him some kunai and told him to be sure to bring them for their training next week. Eventually, after 9 bowls of Ramen and a few hours spent laughing with his closest friends, Naruto had to head home for the clan meeting.

- _That Night, The Yotsuki Clan Compound-_

Around 50 members of the Yotsuki clan sat in a square formation in the clan hall. On one side of the square there was a small elevated platform. On the center of the platform was clan head Gennai Yotsuki, Naruto's uncle. To his right was his daughter and heiress Hikari, Naruto's cousin. To his left sat his brother, deputy head of the clan Koushiro, Naruto's father. Also on the platform sat all the other elders and leaders of the clan, and Naruto's mother.

Naruto sat inside the square, in the center. "Naruto, my nephew, the 14th birthday of a Yotsuki has deep meaning, for you will be interviewed by a few clan elders, and we shall see if you are worthy of coming of age within the clan. Before we begin that let me say that I am extremely proud of you. As your uncle I have seen how wonderful of a person you are, how much joy you have brought to not only my brother and sister-in-law, but my wife, my daughter, and myself.

As a clan head I can see how hard you have worked to gain acceptance into the clan despite the fact that you are not a blood member and lack our Kekkai Genkai. I am very proud of you nephew, and I have confidence you will pass tonight's events. Now then, please tell the assembled elders and clan members your name, likes, dislikes, and ninja skills."

Knowing the serious nature of the ceremony, Naruto set aside his usual disdain for formalities. "Thank you for your confidence in me, Gennai-sama. Assembled Elders and clansmen, I am Naruto Yotsuki, son of Koushiro and Sora Yotsuki, and I am here on my 14th birthday to prove my worth. I like my family, clan, teammates, sensei, Yugito nee-chan, training, and ramen. I dislike waiting for Ramen to cook, and people who judge other people before getting to know them. I am in my 2nd year as a genin under Killer B-sensei, though Raikage-sama is entering my squad in the next chuunin exams." He paused, as he heard many whispers of approval at his words thus far.

"As a student of B-sensei I am proficient in kenjutsu and use a number of blades, predominantly a katana, though I just received a chakra knife earlier today that I also intend to incorporate into my kenjutsu. I use the standard Cloud village taijutsu, and would say that I am competent, but average, in that area. I have recently learned that I possess the wind affinity and have begun learning that. When Raikage-oji-sama has time he teaches me Fuinjutsu, and I can make my own storage seals and lighting seals. I also know all the standard academy jutsu and the Shadow Clone Jutsu."

The elders whispered amongst themselves, as Naruto nervously waited to be addressed. Finally, an old woman spoke to him."Most impressive Naruto-kun. I have two questions for you. Why is it that you call non clan family member nee-chan?, and why is it that you know a high level jutsu like the shadow clone?"

 _So they are starting with the easy questions, huh?_ he grinned before launching into his answer. "To answer your second question first I have a lot of chakra, and it makes it hard for me to make normal clones because they take so little chakra. The reason why is classified. As for why I am so informal, I view Yugito nee-chan as my older sister due to classified reasons, and Raikage-sama has always acted like an uncle to me. As I said he even teaches me fuinjutsu when he has time, and gives me books to learn it on my own when he doesn't. Also, I'm just uncomfortable being formal all the time."

"Naruto-kun, just so you know, while not all clan members are aware, everyone in this room is already aware that you are the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, and it makes sense why you are so close to Kumo's other Jinchuurikis." interjected his uncle.

Another elder then spoke up. "I also have two questions for you Naruto-kun. My first question is this: You posses a wide range of skills, wider than most genin, how do you have time to train for all of that?" "Shadow clones elder-sama. When a shadow clone dissipates I learn everything it experienced, and with how much chakra I have I can create a lot of shadow clones, even without tapping into the Kyuubi chakra. It allows me to learn things in at least half the time it takes others."

The elder nodded in understanding, "Very good, now for my 2nd question: You do not posses our Kekkai Genkai and are not a biological member of the clan. I do not question your place in this clan, but I wonder, how can you serve our clan going forward?"

This was the question that Naruto had pondered for many years now. He loved this clan, it had given so much to him, what could he do to give back to it? He took a deep breath before attempting to answer.

"This clan means everything to me. As you all know I was a war orphan. I do not know where I came from, who my biological parents are, or how I became a jinchuuriki of another village's bijuu. All I know is that it was the Yotsuki clan that took me in and raised me. Every single member of this clan has gone out of their way to make me feel like a member of the clan despite the fact that I am adopted and will never be able to hear chakra. I don't care that I'm not related to you by blood. Otosan and Kaa-san are my real parents, Gennai-oji-sama, and Hikari-chan are my real uncle and cousin, you all are my real family, regardless of blood. I give my word that I will repay the clan however I can, and prove that I am worthy of that kindness. I will do everything I can to protect those who are precious to me. I further vow that someday I will become Raikage and ensure that our clan, and our village prosper. That is my goal and promise, and I never go back on my word, because that is my ninja way."

The interview with the elders went on this way for another 45 minutes, with the questions becoming more technical and personal as time passed. Afterward there was a murmuring of approval from the assembled clan members as Gennai spoke again. "Excellent answers Naruto-kun, and thank you for your questions elders. As clan head I judge you worthy, but there is still one more whose approval you must gain."

With that Genai drew a small amount of his blood and began to make hand signs. "Summoning Jutsu". He called out. A puff of smoke appeared, and when the smoke cleared a human-sized great horned owl was standing before Naruto.

Genai acknowledged the owl, before turning back to his nephew. "Naruto, this is Ichijoji-dono, head of the Owl-nin clan. The Yotsuki clan and the Owl-nin clan are allies. The Owl-nin clan head is the personal summon of the head of the Yotsuki clan, and personally inspects all members of the clan who are closely related to the Yotsuki clan head to see if they can sign a summoning contract with the main family of the owl clan. A second, much larger, contract exists for the branch families of the owl clan and members of the Yotsuki clan who are not closely related to the clan head. As you are my nephew you are eligible to sign the main contract if Ichijoji-dono approves of you, if not you may sign the other contract, but will be partnered with a less powerful owl."

While Genai spoke the owl in question had been staring at Naruto. Naruto felt as if those eyes were staring into his very soul. Eventually, the owl spoke in an almost sing-song like voice. "So this your nephew, eeeeeeeeh Genai-dono? His chakra sounds different than any member of your clan than I have ever heard."

Ichijoji turned his head back to address Naruto. "Boy, what is your name and why does your chakra sound different eeeeeeh?" Naruto tried to be as respectful as possible, bowing low to the owl and carefully considering his words before responding. "Ichijoji-dono, thank your for taking your time to meet me. My name is Naruto Yotsuki, and I am the son of Koushiro and Sora Yotsuki, Gennai-sama is my uncle. There are two reasons why my chakra sounds different. One of which is that I am adopted, the other of which is an S-class secret of Kumogakure."

"Oh, an S class secret you say? Unless I know it I won't allow you to summon an owl from the main family. What do you say to that, eeeeeeeh?" "I'm sorry Ichijoji-dono, but this village and this clan mean too much to me for me to casually reveal the secret to one whom Raikage-sama cleared to know it. If that means I'm going to receive an owl from the branch family than so be it, I'll still become Raikage!"

The owl considered Naruto's response for a minute before letting out a small chuckle. "Ha, I like this boy. I like how you will keep the secret of the village even if it may cost you my approval to sign the contract. Thankfully for you I was already aware of who you, and of your tenant. I just wanted to see how you respond. It would be unheard of to refuse permission for someone so closely related to the Yotsuki-clan head to sign the contract, adopted or not, and jinchuuriki or not. You may sign, though you may not yet summon, as I have yet to determine which of my young genin will act as your personal summons." stated the owl as a contract appeared in front of Naruto.

"Thank you, Ichijoji-dono, I will wait until you send word before I actually use the contract" said Naruto as he drew blood and signed his name. As he began to make the bloody handprint required to complete the contract he noticed that the slot above where he signed his name was signed by his cousin, and the two slots above that were signed by his father and uncle, as well as an Aunt whom he had never met since she died in the last war. Upon seeing those names Naruto was even more motivated to become an excellent ninja for his clan and village.

"The contract is complete, so I will take my leave of you all eeeeeeh, until next time, Yotsuki-dono" said the owl before poofing away.

As Naruto looked around the room he saw that nearly everyone in the room was grinning at him. "Naruto-kun. The elders approved of your responses and character, and the Owl clan has allowed you to sign the contract with their main family. As clan head I am pleased to inform you that you are now considered a full, of age, member of the clan. As your uncle I wish to say how proud I am, and wish you a happy birthday."

What followed was a reception where most of the assembled clansmen congratulated him. Naruto's parents expressed how proud they were, and he even got a rare hug from his cousin, Hikari. "I'm proud of you Itoko, Happy Birthday". Naruto had a huge grin on his face. He knew that, this being a clan ceremony, he should be as formal as possible with the heiress of his clan, but he had already been more formal than he would like, so he simply responded with "Thank you, Hikari-chan".

That night Naruto was so excited and happy that he could barely sleep. When he finally did drift off, he dreamt of riding an owl into battle wielding a sword and controlling tornados of red chakra, in order to win the Chunin Exam and be named Raikage.

-End of Chapter-

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No easter eggs in the last chapter (at least not intentionally, sorry.) Tune in next time for this chapter's references, same bat-site, same bat-author. (sorry, couldn't help myself there)


	6. Chapter 3: Show Me Your Brave Heart!

-I don't own Naruto. Naruto was created by Kishimoto, please support the official release. Thanks for reading my first attempt at fan fiction-

 _Italics are thoughts. -Italics inside hyphens are the setting-_

 **"Bold in Quotation Marks is a Tailed-Beast speaking"**

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 _One week later_

Team 2 made their way to Kumo's gates, where they found a group of people waiting for them. This group included the Raikage, One of the Raikage's assistants named Darui, C, Yugito, Nartuo's Parents, A blonde jounin kunoichi, Gennai, Hikari, and Takeru, who was holding Hikari's hand.

Naruto smiled upon seeing his cousin and her boyfriend. At age 16 they were both 2 years older than him, and were chunin. They had met in the academy and had been on the same Genin team, they had been dating for 3 years. In most villages it would be unthinkable for the heiress of a clan to date an adopted war orphan, but Kumo didn't have very many clans, and as such the clans were much less stuck up than in other villages since more often than not they were forced to work with non clan Ninja.

"Ready to go Gaki?" asked Yugito. "Now remember Z" said the Raikage, using Naruto's codename since they were in public. "Train hard, master this skill and come back to represent us well in the exams." "I will, Raikage-oji-sama." said Naruto. "Raikage-sama, are you sure he's ready for this. Shouldn't he be at least a chunin before he attempts something like this?" Asked a clearly worried C.

"As far as I'm concerned Team 2 are already chunin in everything but name. It's important that Z learns to control this skill. If he were to lose control of it during the exams it would be a disaster, not just for us as a village, but for our relationship with Iwa as well" the Raikage stated in as vague of wording as he could come up with on the spot.

After saying his goodbyes to the group he and Yugito left Kumo. It took them relatively little time to reach Genbu, Kumo's giant turtle that served not only as their counterpart to Konoha's forest of death during chunin exams, but also as the site of the Jinchuuriki training grounds. They quickly settled into the cabin B had set up and then made their way towards the Falls of Truth.

While meditating under the Falls of Truth Naruto was taken inside his own mind and came face to face with his fears, literally. Naruto's fears about letting down and/or not being accepted into his clan had manifested themselves as a clone of Naruto and a brief battle ensued. Once Naruto fought and talked through his fears he was returned to the outside world, and he and Yugito proceeded through the falls to the Bijuu Temple.

After making their way through the 1st chamber, designed to prevent a Bijuu from escaping the Temple, they entered the Chakra Isolation Room. "Now Naruto, in here you will come face to face with the Fox. Have you ever spoken to him before?" Naruto nervously shook his head "No, my parents told me to avoid the Fox and its chakra until I had this training, I've never spoken to him or drawn upon his chakra." "Well then, I guess I'll have to help you tame him. I want you to fist bump me, but keep your fist touching mine." "Ok nee-chan, but why?" "I won't give you some B.S. story about shinobi communicating with their fists. In order to enter for me to enter your mindscape we'll need to be running our chakra through each other, the fists will act as the conduit for that."

Soon Naruto once again found himself in his mind, which was wet and dark. Yugito was at his side and they were facing a massive cell, from which glowing red eyes had emerged. " ** _Well, well, well. If it isn't my jailor. Finally come to visit my after all these years? And you brought Matatabi's brat too. What are you here for foolish human?_** " "What's a Matatabi?" Naruto asked.

"Matatabi is the actual name of the two-tailed cat, my bijuu." Yugito responded. "Oh, well, do you have a name too Fox?" " ** _That's not for a worthless human like yourself to know, kid._** " "Matatabi says that his name is Kurama." added Yugito. "Well Kurama, my name is Yotsuki Naruto, and I'm here to collect some of the rent you owe me, and maybe change up your lease. You work for me know, got it?" boldly declared Naruto. " ** _You fool, making such demands of me while standing so close to my cell? That will be the last thing you do!"_**

In an instant a massive claw shot out from between the bars and headed for Naruto. Yugito dashed towards her quasi-younger brother, but there was nothing she could do, the fox was too fast. Just as the claw was about to tear Naruto apart a blinding white light took over Naruto's mind.

" ** _So it is you, I thought I sensed your chakra around here, come to save the boy_**?" growled Kurama. As the light began to fade Naruto opened his eyes to see a young women around Yugito's age standing before him. She wore a white shirt, with a green apron, and had bright Red hair. "Nice to see you too, Kurama. And yes, my husband implanted some of my chakra into the seal, so that when my son started to learn to control your chakra I could appear and help him." the woman said calmly to the fox.

"Hey nee-chan, what's going on? Who is this woman?" Naruto asked and looked over at Yugito, who looked like she had seen a ghost. "Yugito-san isn't it? It's been a long time, you've grown up nicely. I too am confused as to what's going on, could you please tell me why my son is wearing a Kumo shinobi uniform and headband? I'm sure you're aware of my history with your village." Yugito was absolutely flabbergasted, and it took her a moment to respond. "Hai, Uzumaki-san. I'm aware that the 3rd Raikage tried to have you kidnapped from Konoha. I'm sure seeing your son in the garb of your most hated village must be quite a shock."

Yugito took a moment to calm down some more, before looking apologetically at Naruto. "Naruto-kun. I'm sorry, it seems the other S-class secret about you has to be revealed. Naruto, that woman, is Kushina Uzumaki, the previous Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, and, if Raikage-sama is correct, she's your biological mother. About a year after the Kyuubi attacked Konoha, killing the 4th Hokage and his wife, Raikage-sama wanted to acquire one of Konoha's Kekkai Genkai.

While scouting for a good child our spies discovered you. Based on the way the people put in charge of you tried to kill you on a regular basis, despite the fact that you were only 1, and most of the people protecting you didn't seem to care, they figured you must be a Jinchuuriki. Based on your appearance, they also assumed you were the son of Minato Namikaze, the 4th Hokage, and his wife, Kushina Uzumaki. Raikage-sama greatly respected Namikaze-san and was enraged by how Konoha was treating you, and decided to bring you to Kumo, where Jinchuurikis are treated better. I'm told that it was a relatively easy task for our Anbu, and that the woman running the orphanage practically begged them to kill you."

While listening to Yugito tears had formed in Kushina's eyes. At first they were tears of anger. _It must be a lie, Kumo is the epitome of evil. There's no way Kumo could really care for my son, they just want the fox and the Uzumaki DNA._ When Yugito spoke of how Naruto was treated in Konoha Kushina's anger turned to sorrow. _That actually makes sense. I was hated by most of Konoha because of the fox. I only gained acceptance when I married Minato, but still, such anger at someone who was only a little boy..._

When Yugito finished speaking Kushina began loudly sobbing, and rushed over to her son, pulling him close to her in a hug. "Naruto...I'm so sorry we couldn't be there for you. Minato and I never wanted that for you, if only that masked man hadn't been there that night we would probably still be living, and you'd be loved, and in Konoha where you belong, not with those evil people in Kumo."

"k-k-kaa-san." Said a nervous Naruto, obviously conflicted about calling someone other than the woman who had raised him by that title. "It's ok, I'm sure you did what you had to do in order to protect your village. And I am loved mom. I have a whole big family in Kumo, we aren't evil. I'm a fully acknowledged member of the Yotsuki clan, in fact I'm the son of the deputy head of the clan."

Naruto was quickly finding his confidence again, and his voice became louder and firmer as he continued: "In addition to my clan I have Raikage-oji-sama and Yugito nee-chan, B-sensei, Omoi, Karui-chan, and a few other friends too. I don't belong in Konoha, they never wanted me. I belong in Kumo. I'm Naruto Yotsuki, codename Z, soon to be chunin of Kumo!"

"Well I'm glad you're loved, but I still don't like the idea of you being in Kumo. I'm surprised that Lord 3rd and Kakashi-kun allowed it" "Kushina-san, they don't know we have him." said Yugito. "They seem to think that he is dead. I will tell you that Hatake-san was the only Anbu watching Naruto who actually seemed to care about Naruto's well being, but even an S-class shinobi like the Copy-Ninja can't be on duty 24/7. From what I've heard our Anbu simply waited until one of his shifts ended and then rescued Naruto."

Kushina scowled at the thought of the village that had once tried to kidnap her having to 'rescue' her son. "Well anyways, I'm surprised Minato didn't tell you about your heritage, Naruto. His chakra was supposed to activate anytime the seal almost broke, ya know? we figured that would happen before you started to learn to control the Kyuubi." "Nope, this is actually the first time I've even spoken to Kurama." Naruto responded.

"Otosan and Kaa-san said it would be dangerous for me to try to do so until I got training, and Raikage-oji-Sama and Gennai-oji-sama said protecting my identity and Jinchuuriki status from the other villages was really important." "That's true, your father and I had a lot of enemies. I'm sure Iwa would stop at nothing to have you killed regardless of wether or not they are still allied with Kumo. To be honest I'm surprised Kumo has treated you as well as you say they have."

Yugito spoke up at that slight to her home. "As I said, Raikage-sama had nothing but the utmost respect for your Husband due to their many battles during the war. He considered Minato-san his most important rival, so he was enraged when he heard the reports of how your son was treated by all but a small few in Konoha. Raikage-sama wanted his rival's son to grow up in a loving home with the respect he deserved, that's why Naruto is in Kumo. Everyone accepts him. Granted not many know of his status as a jinchuuriki, but even if they did, B-sama and I are viewed as heroes and very well treated, I have no doubt the people of Kumo would view Naruto-kun in the same light if it were safe for his status to be revealed, but if you don't believe me, ask him. I'll even give you guys some space."

Naruto and his birth mother talked for a bit longer. He asked questions about her and his father, she asked about what had happened in his life, and encouraged him to find a girl just like her. Yugito just stood there awkwardly, she didn't want to interrupt, but at the same time she was worried that having his heritage revealed to him might make her quasi-little brother angry towards Kumo. Finally, after some time, Kushina stood up. "As much as I would like to sit here and talk forever I can feel my chakra starting to fade. We need to get you control of Kurama and fast. Naruto, Yugito-san, are you ready?"

They both nodded and Kushina sprang into action, summoning chakra chains that reached into the cell and began to pull out the Kyuubi's chakra by force. The angry fox tried to resist, and put up some resistance for a while, but once Yugito started to channel Matatabi's chakra he started to lose ground. Once a large amount of chakra had been removed from the cage Kushina separated it from the fox with her sword, and the red chakra was absorbed into Naruto's 'body'. "There" Kushina said "You know have control over a significant amount of Kurama's chakra, however the only way you will ever truly sync with Kurama and become a so called "perfect" jinchuuriki, like Yugito and B, is to get Kurama to accept and work with you."

Just then her image started to fade. "It looks like my time is up son. Your father and I love you very much, and I'm so sorry to hear about what happened to you. I don't like it, but I can't blame you if you choose Kumo over your heritage, and no matter what know that we love you Naruto, and we'll always be watching over both you and Konoha." "Mom, thanks, for everything. Please continue to watch over me." responded Naruto, and with that Kushina was gone.

Within a few minutes Naruto was out of his mind scape and sitting near the pond by B's cabin, lost in thought. _What am I? Who am I? Namikaze? Yotsuki? Uzumaki? Konoha? Kumo? I'm so confused_. Just then a pair of arms wrapped around him, holding him in an embrace. "I'm so sorry you had to find out this way, Gaki. I'm sorry I didn't have the strength to tell you sooner. I know Raikage-sama was looking out for your best interests, but that doesn't make it right. We're not related, but you're like the little brother I never had. I don't like seeing you hurt like this. I'll be in the cabin, when you clear your mind, please come talk to me."

With that Yugito left him alone, she had to write a report to the Raikage quickly. She knew the punishment for revealing an S-class secret, and she wanted to make sure he heard her side of the story before he spoke to Naruto. Naruto didn't say anything, but as Yugito walked away tears formed in his eyes. _Nee-chan, thank you_. He quickly found himself lost in his own thoughts. This was going to be a looooong night.

It was sometime after 3am when Naruto finally climbed into his bed in the cabin and drifted off to sleep, still unsure what to think. Between the sleep deprivation and the natural exhaustion from the ordeal of obtaining so much of the Kyuubi's chakra, he slept almost the whole day, and it was after 6pm when he finally woke up to the smell and sound of sizzling meat.

He headed to the kitchen to find Yugito just putting the finishing touches on dinner. Her eyes opened wide when she saw Naruto, and she quickly set another place at the table and served him some rice and beef. They ate in silence for a while, before Naruto finally spoke. "Nee-chan, I want to be mad at Raikage-sama. I want to be mad at Kumo for lying to me. But hearing what Kushina-kaa-san said about her experiences as Konoha's jinchuuriki, and what you and B-sensei said about how you were treated prior to being labeled as heroes, I believe you all really were looking after me. I'm still mad, but I know who I am. It's nice to know more about my ancestors, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm Naruto Yotsuki. I can't betray everything everyone back home has done for me. If anything knowing that my father was Hokage just puts makes me want to become Raikage even more!"

Before he knew it he was on the receiving end of yet another hug from Yugito, but this time she was the one on the brink of tears, and he reciprocated the hug. The two jinchuuriki stayed like that for some time, before finally Naruto asked "hey, Nee-chan? What are we going to do tomorrow?" "The same thing we'll be doing everyday here Gaki, training!"

 _3 weeks until the Chunin Exams, Raikage's office_.

It had been a tough month and a half for the Raikage. Setting up a chunin exam was never easy, and on top of that he had received reports from Yugito detailing what had happened when Naruto took control of the Kyuubi's chakra. Things could have been worse though, Naruto was still loyal to Kumo, and the finishing touches had been put in place for exam, all that there was left to do for it was wait.

He was about to go to a bar to celebrate when his assistant Darui walked in. "You're going to want to see this, Raikage-sama." he said while handing him a scroll. A quickly read the scroll and swore loudly, he'd have to do more work! _Still,_ he thought, _even with all the extra work this creates, this means the chunin exams will be very interesting this time around_ as he sat back down and got to work.

-end of chapter-

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On to the References from the last chapter:

Of Gifts and Clans: Reminiscent of "Of Mice & Men" the classic novel.

Hikari and Takeru dating: I'm not a "shipper" but when I was a kid I always wanted to see these two Digimon characters end up together.

Taichi Takahashi: Taichi is Hikari's older brother in Digimon Adventure, Adventure 02, and Adventure tri. Takahashi is Takeru's last name in the same franchise.

Numbah 1: From the cartoon "Codename Kids Next Door"

Do I really need to explain what "same bat-site, same bat-author" references? (RIP Adam West, 2nd Best Batman after Kevin Conroy. Campy Superheroes are the best super heroes!)

Thanks again - Col. Bogey


	7. Chapter 4: Here They Come!

-I don't own Naruto. Naruto was created by Kishimoto, please support the official release. Thanks for reading my first attempt at fan fiction-

 _Italics are thoughts. -Italics inside hyphens are the setting-_

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 _-Land of Snow, one week prior to the Chuunin Exam-_

It had been yet another rough year for Kakashi Hatake. Konoha had nearly been destroyed by Orochimaru, and the 3rd Hokage had been killed in the chaos. Then shortly after Tsunade Senju had been sworn in as the 5th Hokage, his favorite student, Sasuke Uchiha, had defected to join Orochimaru. This brought to Kakashi's mind to just how much he had failed his other two students. They were both from civilian families, and were essentially just Sasuke fan girls.

Sasuke had actually killed one of them while leaving Konoha, leaving Sakura Haruno as Kakashi's sole student. Sakura however had stopped trusting Kakashi after it became clear that he didn't really care about teaching any of his students who didn't posses a Sharingan. Sure she respected his ninja skills, was willing to follow his orders onmissions, and he had always been kind to her, but she had realized he had no interest in teaching her. She had been willing to put up with this while her sole goal was to get Sasuke to like her, but now she was actually taking her training seriously, in order to bring her love back, and had abandoned her Sensei in favor of becoming the Hokage's apprentice.

 _I've failed so many people in my life. My old team: Obito, Rin, Minato-Sensei and Kushina-san. My students: Sasuke's a traitor, Miyako's dead, and Sakura doesn't trust me to teach her. Then there's Naruto. I've failed so many, and yet Shikaku-san actually suggested I would be a good choice for Hokage? And now Tsunade-sama's put me in charge of this mission? Why? All I ever do is fail people_.

Kakashi continued to think such thoughts until he felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking up he saw the face of his friend Asuma Sarutobi, who was the other jonin on the mission. "Come on Kakashi, time for us to get moving again, these kids are really anxious for a shot at redemption." "Yeah, alright Asuma, I still can't believe we are actually sending 2 squads to Kumo's chunin exams." Asuma nodded in agreement, but seemed to be less surprised than Kakashi was.

"Well their chances last time were kinda ruined by the snake bastard, and so giving these kids another chance helps them. Hokage-sama and Danzo-sama also both thought it would be good to send Kumo and Iwa a message that Konoha is still strong." Kakashi saw the logic in that: "Yeah, that's true, I still can't believe Tsunade-sama and Danzo-sama actually agreed on something though."

Konoha had created 2 new teams consisting of members of the Leaf 11 to participate in this exam. Each of their original teams was short members and couldn't compete on its own, making this arrangement necessary. One of the new teams was a merger of team 10 and team 8 and consisted of Neji Hyuga, Tenten, and Shino Aburame.

Rock Lee was still in the hospital after having much of his body destroyed by the One Tailed Racoon's Jinchuuriki, Gaara, during Konoha's previous chunin exam 5 months earlier. Hinata Hyuga was no longer in the hospital, back to full strength after a nearly being killed during a preliminary round fight with her cousin, Neji. However that loss had shattered Hinata's confidence, and Kurenai had to do everything in her power to keep Hinata from giving up on being a shinobi entirely, she had lost all motivation.

Shino's other teammate, Kiba Inuzuka, was seen as not yet mentally ready for promotion, and was not selected for this new exam. This new hybrid team was led by Kakashi, who had argued against his participating in the mission. He argued that either Might Guy or Kurenai Yuhi should serve as jonin leader, since this new team was a hybrid of their old teams, but Tsunade had insisted that Kakashi go in case any trouble happened in Kumo. It was not that she didn't trust Guy or Kurenai, but Kakashi was currently Konoha's most notorious ninja besides the Sanin, and his reputation alone might be just enough to prevent Iwa from doing dastardly deeds to Konoha's genin, at least outside of the exams.

The other team, led by Asuma, was a mixture of his and Kakashi's teams and consisted of Choji Akimichi, Ino Yamanaka, and Sakura Haruno. Choji and Ino's teammate Shikamaru was the only person to be promoted to chunin after the last exams, and one of Sakura's teammates was a traitor while the other was dead. Tsunade had almost withheld Sakura from participating, but her apprentice had improved so much and put so much effort in the last few months that she couldn't deny Sakura the opportunity to test herself.

These two teams had been specially selected because Konoha expected them to do well, as a sort of show of force to Iwa and Kumo, letting them know that even with a new Hokage and a partially destroyed village they were still a force to recon with. Tsunade and the leader of Konoha's "Foundation" sect, Danzo, hated each other, but were surprised to find that they were in agreement that breaking from convention and having Konoha participate in the Kumo/Iwa exams was the best way to send the message. "Alright everyone," Kakashi said, "We should reach Kumo in about 4 days if we hurry, let's move out."

 _-At the same time, The Raikage's Office-_

Team 2 was back together and standing in the Raikage's office. After a few pleasantries A began speaking. "I've received reports from all of your sensei and I'm proud of your progress, even if some unexpected things occurred." he stated while shooting a knowing glance towards Naruto. "Raikage-oji-sama...can I tell them?" "As long as they understand this also an S-class secret it's fine."

Naruto told his teammates what had happened. How he met his biological mother, what his actual origins were, everything. Karui shot her friend a concerned look. "We may be allied with Iwa but if they find out they won't hesitate to kill him. They despise the 4th Hokage." A nodded "Correct, and 2 weeks ago I found out that Konoha would be sending teams as well. Naruto, we'll need to change your appearance a bit. I want you to comb or gel your hair. With it as spiky as it is you look just like a clone of Minato. Take these as well, these are contacts that will change your eyes from blue to grey. We anticipate Konoha will arrive in 4 days, while we think Iwa will arrive in 2 or 3. Starting tomorrow you are not to leave your house without those contacts in place and a new hairdo."

Clearly nervous at the possible implications for his saftey, Naruto could only nod and quietly mutter "Sure thing, Raikage-oji-sama." "How many teams are participating Raikage-sama" asked Omoi. "It's a small exam this year. 10 of our non rookie genin teams will participate. Iwa is sending 3, Konoha 2, Hoshi, Shimo, and Yuki are all sending 1." "Hmm. 10 cloud, 3 stone, 2 leaf, 1 star, 1 frost, and 1 snow. 18 teams. That's a lot of competition." said Omoi.

 _-The Day before The Chuunin Exams, The Raikage's Office-_

Killer B knew something was up, it was rare that A actually had time to share a meal with him. Even though B was technically his brother's primary bodyguard his duty as Sensei of Team 2 meant he didn't get to spend as much time with his brother as he would like. "So what's up Bro, how's it hanging yo?" "B, please, no rapping right now, this is serious."

A held firm through B's pouty "puppy dog eyes", then his complaints that A was trying to stifle his personality, and once B finally nodded his understanding and acceptance he continued. "Have you spoken to Naruto about what happened? What's his mental state?" "He's mad big bro. He does a good job of hiding it behind his normal friendly face, but he has a lot of anger in him right now, he's really hurting." A nodded his understanding. _I can't say I blame him, all the adults he looks up to have been lying to him his entire life._

"I understand he is still loyal to Kumo though?" "Yes bro. He's mad at us, but it didn't shake who he is. He knows how Konoha treated his biological mother, and he knows how he was treated there when he was a baby. He has no desire to return to Konoha. If anything, having his heritage revealed to him just put more pressure on him to achieve his dreams. After all he wants to be Raikage someday, and as the son of a Kage he has the pedigree for it, that's just more pressure and motivation for him. He knows you were only looking out for his safety, and the rest of us were just following orders, he'll get over it soon."

"Still, I'm concerned about the Konoha shinobi that are here. Hatake is incredibly intelligent, and possesses the sharingan. Sarutobi is the son of the 3rd Hokage and a former member of the Guardian Shinobi 12, he's pretty clever himself. While the others are all genin they include a Hyuga and an Aburame. It's possible that the Hyuga could see the bijuu chakra with his Byakugan, and the Aburame insects may have been trained to identify the distinct chakra's of various clans may be able to realize that Naruto is actually part Uzumaki, or a third Kumo jinchuuriki, and that will only raise too many questions. I want you to keep Naruto away from the Konoha-nin as much as possible." _I'm sorry, Naruto, even if I apologize to you every time I see you for the rest of my life it will never be enough to make up to lying to you for so long, but please, trust me to keep you safe_ , thought the Raikage as he took a bite of his lunch.

 _-At the same time, in a Kumogakure restaurant-_

Team 2 was out and about. Naruto was wearing the grey contacts, and had opted to cut his hair and then let it regrow after the exam, so rather than his normal spiky locks he was sporting a buzz cut. The village was buzzing with excitement, and security was tight, the Anbu were everywhere. No one could believe that Konoha and Iwa were going to participate in the same exam.

The teams from Iwa and Konoha were housed on opposite sides of the village and banned from leaving the district they were housed in except for heading to the exams, this helped keep the peace. It just so happened that Omoi lived in the district Konoha was staying in, so Team 2 ended up in the same restaurant as Asuma and Kakashi.

Asuma had called the genin over and was talking with them about the exams. He and Kakashi's other friends had been trying to pull Kakashi out of his dark mood by forcing him to socialize with anyone and everyone, including, apparently, genin from other villages, in addition to trying to set him up with one of Konoha's kuonoichi.

Kakashi just kept staring at Naruto. _He looks familiar, but he's only a genin and I don't think I've run into any Kumo genin recently_ , thought the Copy Ninja. He was so consumed by how familiar Naruto seem that he had even stopped reading his copy of Make-Out Tactics. "Can I help you?" Naruto had noticed Kakashi's one eyed stare. "No, sorry, just thought you looked like someone I know. My name's Kakashi Hatake."

"Whoah, the famous Copy Ninja?!" exclaimed Karui. "Heh, I go by 'Z', and these are my teammates Omoi and Karui." said Naruto, though he was a bit nervous that he seemed familiar to Kakashi even though Kakashi hadn't seen him in over a decade. "Well, Z, I'll be keeping an eye on you in the exams. Good luck."

-End of Chapter-

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Original Commentary:

Chapter 3 references:

Show Me Your Braveheart: If you aren't familiar with the song "Brave Heart" from Digimon Adventure I highly suggest you check it out. The german dub of it, "Wir werden seigen", is also pretty good. If you're getting tired of all the Digimon references I apologize, but they will likely continue. Other than Naruto Digimon Adventure (and by extension Adventure 02 and Tri) is the only Anime I've ever really gotten into (Got into Digimon when I was a kid, discovered the subbed version when I was 20, and am now enjoying Tri. Didn't discover Naruto until I was 25) so it's not like I have this massive amount of Anime knowledge I can pull from for references. (Yes I've seen a couple others, but there is a difference between passively enjoying them and really getting into them)

Naruto and Yugito's last lines in the chapter are reminiscent of lines that ended most episode of a certain 90s cartoon. It would usually go like this: "Gee, Brain, what are we gonna do tomorrow night?" "The same thing we do every night Pinky, try to take over the world!" Then the ending theme would kick in "They're dinky, they're Pinky & the Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain, NARF!" Pinky & the Brain was a great cartoon, and I actually wrote that line in the story with out realizing what I had done. Came back to read the chapter over one last time and discovered it.

So formatting experiment: Last time I tried to break up the paragraphs, into just a few lines before a space. This time they are more traditional paragraphs (though I'm still annoyed I can't seem to indent them). Not sure which I like better. If you feel strongly either way let me know.

90% sure that the next thing I introduce will be an "Interlude" rather than chapter 5. It will cover a couple of very popular Naruto characters who haven't really been shown yet, just mentioned in passing.

Post Update Commentary:

Wait. I freely admitted that I reread this before publishing it and I still missed so much stuff? I mean, I know I was really busy this past semester, but still, that's bad. The more I go back and touch these up the more embarrassed I get. What the heck was I reading? Oh Yeah! It was usually at 2am and I was half asleep. Lesson learned.

I am still upset that paragraphs can't be indented, so that hasn't changed I guess.

Thanks for read,

\- Col. Bogey


	8. Interlude: For He Knows A Shinobi's King

-I don't own Naruto. Naruto was created by Kishimoto, please support the official release. Thanks for reading my first attempt at fan fiction-

 _Italics are thoughts, or information on the setting. It should be fairly obvious which is which_.

-This is an interlude, not a chapter. Interludes will focus on content from the Yotsuki Naruto World that doesn't necessarily belong in the main story. This first one looks at two of the franchise's most popular characters, please enjoy-

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- _Konoha_ -

 _What a drag, I'm not even gonna have time to watch the clouds today. Still, at least I don't have to deal with Ino. And I do get to play shogi, though it's not like I have a choice in the matter._ Shikamaru Nara was the Leaf Village's newest Chunin. He wore his chunin vest over his normal grey shirt with the Nara Clan crest on it, and his hair was in the traditional Nara clan spiky ponytail.

As he made his way through Konoha he paused for a moment to watch some of Konoha's newest genin, Team Ebisu, chase the Fire Daiymo's wife's cat through the streets. _Troublesome cat_. Thought Konoha's laziest chunin. _Still it's all part of the process, once they can actually catch the cat Konohamaru and the others can start to learn to protect the King._ Shikamaru made his way to the Hokage Tower. While most people visiting the tower would head up the stairs to the upper floors where the village bureaucracy was stationed, he headed down.

At the bottom of the staircase was a locked door with an Anbu on guard. "Good Afternoon, Nara-san, please proceed, they're waiting for you" stated the Anbu as he unlocked and opened the door, revealing a long tunnel. Shikamaru walked through the tunnel for a quarter mile and then found himself in a massive subterranean compound. Most villages had such compounds, they served as evacuation shelters, armories, a fall back position in case of siege, training grounds, prisons, and more.

Konoha's compound was actually inside Hokage Mountain, and there were several entrances, including up the 3rd Hokage's nose, but the Hokage Tower entrance was the most covert way to enter. Shikamaru was on a top-secret A-rank mission, so discretion was his friend. He made his way down a dimly lit corridor, and finally found himself face to face with Ibiki Morino, head of Konoha's Torture and Interrogation (T&I) unit. "How's our friend doing today?" Asked Shikamaru. "Today seems to be one of his good days, Inoichi-san is just finishing up with him" responded the most feared special jonin in Konoha as he beckoned Shikamaru through a hidden door.

Walking through the door Shikamaru found himself in an observation room, complete with a 1-way window. Those on Shikamaru's side of the window could see into the next room, those that were in the other room could only see a mirror. The other room in question was brightly lit and brightly colored, it looked absolutely nothing like the stereotypical interrogation room, rather it looked like it might be a teenager's bedroom. Inside the room Shikamaru saw his father's best friend, Inoichi Yamanaka, head of the Yamanaka Clan, deep in concentration, his hand on a boy's head. The boy was Shikamaru's age, with red hair and bags under his eyes and a tattoo on his forehead, though Shikamaru noted that those bags were not as dark as they had once been.

It had been 6 months since Sunagakure realized they had been fooled by Orochimaru and had unconditionally surrendered to Konoha. As part of the peace treaty, which also reaffirmed the Konoha-Suna alliance, The Village Hidden in the Sand had been forced to surrender the One Tailed Raccoon's Jinchuuriki, Gaara, of the Kazekage Clan. In that time the T&I department, along with the famed mind jutsu possessing Yamanaka clan, had worked tirelessly to turn Gaara from a homicidal maniac into someone who could be productive a productive member of society,. It had been hard work, but in the last couple of months they had seen notable progress.

The minor villages in Konoha and Suna's alliance, such as Taki and Kusa, were also involved, as having the Jinchuuriki stable would be a huge help to their alliance. Taki even sent over their own jinchuuriki, Fuu, who often spoke with Gaara about how she was able to over come the hatred and prejudice she faced and turn it into something positive. Once Gaara started to come to terms with his past Tsunade had brought Shikamaru in on the mission to "seal the deal".

As Inoichi left Shikamaru entered the room at sat down at a table. "Hello Gaara, are you ready for our usual game?" "Yes Shikamaru-san, it is good to see you, I am closer to beating you then ever before" said Gaara moving to join Shikamaru at the table and begin their weekly game of Shogi. "That's true Gaara, but you won't be able to beat me until you understand how to protect the King."

"I still don't know what you mean." said Gaara as he made the first move, "however I have come to realize that you are speaking metaphorically. I wondered why Hokage-sama had ordered you to play shogi with me every week, now I realize it is to teach me some lesson, though I'm not yet sure what that lesson is." "Just knowing that I'm not literally talking about protecting a game piece is a good step, Gaara."

As the game began they turned to small talk. "So, Shikamaru-san, how was your week?" "Troublesome, I spent the last 4 days acting as a guide and escort for your troublesome sister, then almost all my friends left to go take the chunin exams in Kumo." "You saw Temari, how is she?" "She's the 4th most troublesome women I have to deal with. She and I are both lead ambassadors for our village's renewed alliance. Every time she comes here I have to escort her around, every time I go to Suna she escorts me around, it's troublesome."

"I'm surprised ranking all the troublesome women in your life wasn't itself too troublesome for you. Please, tell me who all is more troublesome than my older sister." "Well my mother is the most troublesome woman of all time, following her is Ino, third is Lady Tsunade, Temari is Fourth, and 5th is a tie between Sakura and Kurenai-Sensei." "How is this sensei of yours troublesome." "It's not anything she herself does, it's the effect she has on Asuma-sensei. Every time she comes around while we are playing shogi Asuma-sensei looses all sense of strategy, it's as if he isn't even focused on the game anymore. But enough about me, how are you Gaara?...check."

Gaara took a moment to study the board before he spoke. "I am well. Inoichi-san has been helping me come to grips with the hatred I faced in Suna. I understand why the villagers ended up fearing me, but what was unforgivable was how my father treated me. He ingrained hatred into me from the very beginning, he made me into the monster I was, not Shukaku...check."

Shikamaru looked surprised _I can't believe he actually put me in check, he really has gotten better_ , but quickly regained his composure. "That was a nice move Gaara, and I agree with your reasoning. What Raza-sama did was unacceptable. If it makes you feel any better both your sister and your brother are worried about you." "Of course they are, it's up to me to become Kazekage."

Shikamaru had an incredulous look on his face after hearing Gaara boldly state he had to become Kazekage, after all his village still thought of him as an insane mass-murder. "What?!" "Well of course. Only members of the Kazekage clan are eligible to become Kazekage, currently there are just the three of us. Kankuro is no good at that sort of thing, and Suna is not as open minded about women in leadership roles as Konoha is, probably because we don't have a clan of lazy, submissive men like the Nara clan. Even if she could become Kazekage, it's obvious you are going on to big things here in Konoha, and I wouldn't want the two of you to have to have a long distance relationship after you get married...check."

Shikamaru groaned. _Ino already tries to set the two of us up enough, the last thing I need is Gaara doing it too, so troublesome._ "Gaara, neither of those jokes were funny...checkmate. You did better today." "I was only joking about the Nara clan Shikamaru-san. But as for my sister...I can see the look in your eyes when you talk about her. I could see the look in her eyes when she fought you in the chunin exams. I will be Kazekage so that she can be with you, I love my older brother but he couldn't handle it. No, protecting the people, protecting the children of Suna, making sure they grow up without having to deal with anything like what I went through, that shall be my burden to bear, my repentance for all that I have done."

Shikamaru's expression went from bothered after the talk of him and Temari to one of admiration when he heard Gaara's reasons for wanting to become Kazekage. As he stared at Gaara a T&I shinobi came into the room and handed Shikamaru a scroll. After reading it Shikamaru couldn't help but smile. "Gaara, it looks like you might only have one more shot to beat me. Hokage-sama has decided you have progressed enough that you will be returning to Suna two weeks from today." _Gaara, it's troublesome but everything you just said, even that stuff about the Nara clan, it's all true. I believe you are going to become Kazekage, and I can't wait until you do,_ Shikamaru thought before getting up an heading towards the door. "I can also say that while you may not have beat me in shogi, today you showed me you know how to protect the king."

-End of Interlude-

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Since Interludes aren't full chapters the last chapter's references won't be explained until after the next chapter. Instead at the end of the interlude I'll just explain any references that happened in that interlude. In this case there is only 1.

The Interlude's title "For He Knows A Shinobi's King" is a reference to Gilbert & Sullivan's Operetta _The Pirates of Penzance_ which includes a song where the chorus includes the line "For I am a Pirate King". (Note that in this case Chorus means the chorus of a song/aria, not the vocal ensemble within operas and musicals) If you enjoy Victorian English humor and extremely subtle, yet scathing, social commentary you'll enjoy the show. I've played in or conducted the pit orchestra for several different musicals and light operas, and _Pirates of Penzance_ is far and away my favorite. It's of course also a reference to Asuma's shogi lessons with Shikamaru, which in this timeline have already happened since Shikamaru is now teaching them to Gaara.

Hope you liked the 1st interlude. While the overall focus of this story will be on Naruto and Kumo I want these interludes to explore what happens to some of my favorite characters from the other villages. I'm not sure how often these Interludes will pop up, this first one is really just an experiment. I thought I'd focus on Shikamaru and Gaara. I love the growth Gaara shows between Part 1 and Shippuden, but with Naruto not being in Konoha I needed another way for Gaara to make that transition, so I figured Shikamaru would be good for it. If you're still reading thanks for sticking around through my ramblings. - Col. Bogey


	9. Chapter 5: O Pain & Lady Angel

-I don't own Naruto. Naruto was created by Kishimoto, please support the official release. Thanks for reading my first attempt at fan fiction-

 _Italics are thoughts. -Italics inside hyphens are the setting-_

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- _The Village Hidden in the Rain, Amegakure_ -

"O Pain-sam, O Lady Angel, please, if you can hear me, p-p-please." begged an Ame ninja while barely holding back the tears. "Please, Pain-sama, please save my Wife, she's sick. She's dying, the doctor's say there is nothing they can do for her. Please, Pain-sama, use your divine power, I beg you! If you can't please at least judge her favorably in the afterlife. Hail Pain-sama, god and creator of all living things, we are nothing before your might. Hail the lady Angel, who descends from the heaven's with our deities divine words. Please, Pain-sama, please hear your humble servant's plea!" The Ame-nin continued pleading for some time, but he was so overcome with emotion that his words could no longer be understood by anyone who may have been listening.

Ame was a dark place. It wasn't just that most days the sky was filled with dark rain clouds, the mood was dark too. After a deadly civil war Nagato Uzumaki, of the Akatsuki, had cemented his place as Pain, god of Amegakure, but Pain was not a loving god. He was merciless, and villagers and shinobi alike were terrified of him, but that fear also made them incredibly devout followers.

Currently security in the Rain village was at an all time high since Pain had come to power. The villagers could sense the tension in the air, and the shinobi felt a foreboding, malicious, sensation permeating all throughout the village. Since Pain had come to power the village had largely been closed to outsiders. However, recently villagers had noticed a number of strange looking shinobi, all wearing black cloaks with red clouds, in the village. The people prayed to Pain for their saftey from these strange men.

 _-In the highest room of Ame's tallest tower-_

"Sasori, Dedara, have you had any luck finding the One Tails?" Enqured Pain, more specifically the body of the former Akatsuki member Yahiko, which acted as the primary Pain. "No Leader-sama, The One Tailed Raccoon's Location remains a mystery, we believe he is still being held by Konoha. Perhaps they are looking to acquire a 2nd Tailed Beast?" answered the Suna missing-nin Sasori of the Red Sand.

Pain took in the intel and continued. "Hmn, speaking of Konoha, Itachi, Kisame, have you discovered the identity of the 9 tails jinchuuriki?" One of the two remaining Uchiha answered him. "No Pain-sama. Konoha has hidden his identity well. The whole village seems to believe the 4th Hokage killed the Nine-Tails." answered Itachi. "That is impossible, no one without one of these can kill a tailed beast." said Pain while motioning to his Rinnegan.

"Hidan, Kakuzu, what of Taki's Jinchuuriki?" "We know her identity, Leader-sama. Do you want us to sacrifice her to Jashin-sama?" asked Hidan. "No, just give her identity to Zetsu, and remember Hidan, I am god, not Jashin." Hidan huffed at his leader's blasphemy as Pain addressed the room "We have identified all the Jinchuuriki except the Nine-tails, and just need to confirm the location of the One-Tails. However we have had a set back. As you know Kiri has been in the midst of a civil war. It seems that the 3-tails Jinchuuriki has been killed by the rebellion's leader, Mei Terumi and his Biiju's chakra has dispersed."

"So Mei-chan's the one who is leading the Rebellion eh?" Stated Kisame, the only former Kiri nin in the Akatsuki. "-Chan eh? Something happened between you two, Kisame my man?" asked the former Iwa nin Deidara. "We were on the same genin squad. She was a good friend, to be honest, now that I know that she's in charge of the Rebellion the only reason I'm not leaving the Ataksuki to join her is that I know my crimes are so great that even she couldn't forgive me. Also, because Pain-sama would never allow someone else to betray this organization and live, ever since that snake bastard left he's been much stricter about our loyalty."

"Kisame, enough." Interjected Pain before continuing: "It will be a few years before the 3 Tailed Turtle is able to reform itself. Since we have to seal the Tailed-Beasts in order, and we still don't know where the One Tails is we will wait to begin our hunt until after the 3 Tails has reformed. In the mean time make sure you report any information you have on the Jinchuuriki you were assigned to investigate to Zetsu. For the next few years we likely won't meet like this again. You'll stay in your two man teams and report to you unit superior."Stated Pain to the surprise of most of the members.

"We will divide into two Units. Konan, Zetsu, and I, will be based here in Amegakure. Konan and I will focus on turning the Rain Village into a proper headquarters for our organization, while Zetsu will be our spy and our tailed beast tracker. Kakuzu will be in charge of the other unit, though ultimately he will still report to me. The rest of you will operate in your teams of two and complete the missions Kakuzu assigns you. The money you earn will be used to fortify our position here in Ame as well as to bribe people for information that will allow us to achieve our objectives. If at anytime between now and our next meeting you hear anything about about a Jinchuuriki or tailed-beast, no matter how outlandish or small it may seem, report it to Kakuzu. He will report it to me, and I will have Zetsu investigate. For now the Tailed Beasts are not your concern. One last thing, Tobi will be floating around the various teams from now on. He has free reign of movement and you are to be as accommodating as possible when he is with your team. This meeting of the Akatsuki is adjourned, you are dismissed."

With that Pain strode out of the room, followed closely by Konan, while Zetsu immediately melded into the floor and disappeared. The remaining 6 members lingered for a few minutes, mostly to complain about Tobi, before they too left the tower, and the Hidden Rain Village, each team of two going their separate way.

 _-Two weeks Later-_

Kisame didn't have a single friend left, but if he did that friend would be Itachi. Because he valued Itachi he was relatively relaxed around him, and didn't avoid looking Itachi in the eyes. On this particular day Itachi had wasted no time putting Kisame under a Genjutsu. Kisame would never know that he was under one, or that Itachi had left. _Finally, I can't believe it's been two weeks and I still haven't been able to break away. I must report what was discussed at our last meeting to Jiraya-sama, then get back before the genjutsu wears off._

-End of Chapter-

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This is the last content that I had written prior to my creating an account and joining this site. From here on out I'll do my best, but I can't guarantee that new chapters will come as quickly. I can tell you that the chunin exams will start next time though!

Ch. 4 References:

The title, "Here They Come!" comes from the Star Wars Soundtrack. It is usually listed as "Tie Figher Attack", but on the album "John Williams Conducts John Williams, the Star Wars Trilogy" it is listed as "Here They Come". In my story it is of course a reference to the Konoha characters making their way to Kumo.

Once again, thanks for reading.

-Col. Bogey


	10. Chapter 6: Chunin Exam Ready? Go!

-I don't own Naruto. Naruto was created by Kishimoto, please support the official release. Thanks for reading my first attempt at fan fiction-

 _Italics are thoughts. -Italics inside hyphens are the setting-_

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The 18 teams gathered in front of a pair of hotels near the outskirts of Kumo, ready for whatever awaited them. Team 2 was talking amongst themselves when they heard a voice call out "Karui-chan, Omoi-kun, Z-kun, hey guys!" They looked over to see another Kumo team moving towards them "It's team 5! Hi Ran- chan long time no see!" said Karui, greeting her friend.

Ran was a kunoichi with brown hair and fair complexion. She carried a tanto slung across her back, and was one of the few members of their Academy class outside of his own team whose Kenjutsu skills Omoi and Karui actually respected. "Careful Karui, they could be enemies Henged to look like our friends." Said the ever paranoid Omoi.

"Omoi-san, it's good that you are being cautious, but I can assure you that we are who we appear to be." Nurui was a tall genin with long brown hair. He was easily the smartest member of their graduating class, and was a brilliant strategist, but he had a reputation for being a bit of a coward because he preferred to set traps than to actually fight.

"Z-nii-chan, Omoi-oni-chan, Karui-nee-chan! How are you?" asked Yukai, the third member of team 5. He was considered a bit of a prodigy, and had skipped a few grades in the academy. He had long light brown hair, and gold eyes. Unlike most Kumo shinobi, who preferred to wear blue or black, Yukai wore a green shirt. His teammates were both 14, but he had just turned 11. Team 5 was led by a young, recently promoted, bald jonin, codenamed J.

It wasn't much longer before the other Kumo genin team from their graduating class made their way over to join in the conversation. Team 1 consisted of two twin brothers, Domon and Kyoji, as well as a kunoichi named Rain. Even as a genin Rain was showing lots of talent of as a medical nin, while her two teammates were amongst the strongest genin in the whole village when it came to taijutsu, thanks to the disciplined training of their jonin sensei, who went by the fairly elaborate codename "King of Hearts."

The other 7 Kumo teams were also meeting up with old friends. The 3 Iwa teams just glared at the 2 Konoha teams, who stuck together, while the 3 teams from smaller villages were all sticking to themselves. Despite the glares from the Iwa teams, the Konoha genin couldn't believe how much friendlier the opening of this exam was then their own. Was it that all these villages simply got along better? Or were these exams just lighter without a looming invasion occupying the minds of many of the competitors?

With a poof of smoke Atsui appeared in front of the assembled ninja. Atsui was Samui's younger brother, and was only a couple of years older than Naruto and Co. He had become a chunin at age 13, and was now, at age 16, the proctor for the 1st exam.

"Welcome to the Chunin Exams, my name is Atsui and I am your first proctor. Raikage-sama wishes me to express his gratitude for all of the notable genin that have been sent to participate in our exams. From the Tscuchikage's granddaughter to the heirs of multiple Konoha Clans, and the children of the leaders of all 3 of the smaller villages, there are many exceptional shinobi participating. Raikage-sama wishes me to inform you that you honor Kumo by allowing us to test your best." He paused for added impact, letting his words sink in.

"Now, listen up, in the 1st exam there is to be no fighting what so ever, understood?" He said shooting a look at both the Iwa and Konoha nin. "The 1st exam is a time trial that will judge not only your speed, but your stealth and intelligence gathering. Teams will run the course 1 at a time, and due to the length of the course many teams will be waiting a few days before it is their turn. Each team must send a member up here to draw a lot to determine the order. While your team is waiting to compete you will be given a room in the hotel on the left. After your team has competed you will be given a room in the hotel on the right. Under no circumstances are you allowed to leave your hotel unless I summon you. Everyone understand? Good, then send someone up here to draw, good luck!"

Naruto found himself standing in line for a number squished in between two Konoha kunoichi. One was a fellow blond who kept her hair in a ponytail and wore purple. The other was clad in white, and kept her brown hair in buns. Through casual small talk Naruto found out that their names were Ino Yamanaka and Tenten. The three talked for a while, but Naruto was noticeably hesitant. He wasn't quite sure what to think of Konoha, and he was worried his origins might be discovered by them. Those concerns made him a bit more awkward than normal, and he even accidentally tripped over once. _He's kinda cute when he's like_ _this_ , thought the two Kunoichi. When all the lots were drawn Atsui addressed the crowed again. "All right here is the order:

1st: Kumo team 9

2nd: Iwa team 2

3rd: Kumo team 8

4th: Kumo team 1 (Domon, Kyoji, Rain)

5th: Konoha team Asuma (Choji, Ino, Sakura)

6th: Kumo team 6

7th: Kumo team 3

8th: Hoshigakure Team

9th: Iwa team 1 (includes Kurotsuchi)

10th: Yukigakure Team

11th: Kumo team 4

12th: Konoha team Kakashi (Shino, Neji, Tenten)

13th: Kumo team 2 (Naruto, Omoi, Karui)

14th: Kumo team 7

15th: Shimogakure Team.

16th: Kumo team 5 (Ran, Nurui, Yukai)

17th: Kumo team 10

18th: Iwa team 3

I need everyone except Kumogakure team 9 to head into the hotel and get settled please! Remember you are not allowed to leave the hotel unless summoned, though within the hotel you are free to move around as long as their is no fighting or sabotage, we will have chunin proctors inside both hotels watching you at all times. Good luck everyone."

 _-Two Days Later-_

Naruto was bored. In the time since he had been in the hotel he had only seen 1 other team leave to begin their run, and he didn't like being cooped up in the hotel. Furthermore, the generally jovial mood amongst the Kumo-nin prior to the first exam beginning had died out, and no one seemed to be willing to talk to anyone who wasn't part of their own team. Naruto wasn't sure if that was just due to all of the rather intimidating looking proctors stationed throughout the hotel, or if it was just due to other teams wanting to focus on their strategies, either way he was becoming sick of it, and resolved to do something about it.

 _-The Next Morning-_

The Hotel operated a continental breakfast buffet from about 6-10 in the morning. On this particular day Naruto had not slept well, and headed down to get a bite to eat at about 6:15. He was surprised to find the seating area empty except for a lone Iwa konouichi sipping a cup of tea. _Here's my chance to actually talk_ _to_ _somebody else!_ Thought Naruto as he quickly filled a plate and headed over the same table as the kunouichi.

Kurotsuchi had been trying to enjoy her morning cup of tea when she noticed a comparatively short Kumo genin make his way towards her. He had short blond hair and grey eyes. _He's not bad looking,_ _but what's he doing heading towards a shinobi from another village so early in the morning?_ she thought, mildly irritated.

"Hey, good morning, my name's Z Yotsuki, mind if I sit with you?" "*sigh*, I guess that's fine. My name's Kurotsuchi, so you're from the Yotsuki clan huh?" "Yep, my father is the deputy head of the clan, and the head of the clan is my uncle. It's nice to meet you Kurotsuchi, I wasn't really expecting to find anyone down here so early."

"I've been in the lobby since midnight, my team has someone monitoring the entrance 24/7 to keep an eye on things." "Really? How many teams have gone?" "And why should I share that information with someone from another village?" "Well our villages our allies, plus as future Raikage I'm a pretty handy person to know." "You, future Raikage? Huh, It's my dream to take over for my geezer Grandpa as Tsuchikage, so as one future Kage to another I'll give you some, but not all, of our intel. Currently The 7th team is out. My team is 9th and we are estimating we will be starting this late this evening."

"Really? It's the 4th day and we aren't even halfway through? Damn! I'm sooooooo bored. There's nothing to do and no one from other teams is willing to talk to each other." Complained Naruto."Hey it could be worse." countered Kurotsuchi. "Deal with it. Waiting and boredom is part of being a shinobi. Stake-outs for example. And you can't really blame everyone for being so uptight, after all there are shinobi from 6 different villages crammed into this 1 hotel, and the proctors are pretty good at creating a sense of foreboding."

"That's all true I guess, still, the tension here is so thick you could cut it with a knife. I just want to go get some Ramen!" Naruto's proud exclamation of his love of Ramen forced Kurotsuchi to stifle a laugh. _I don't know what it is about this guy, but it's_ _impossible not to like him. He's not the brightest guy, that much is obvious, but he definitely knows the importance of being earnest._ At this point more shinobi, including one of Kurotsuchi's teammates, were starting to head into the lobby to get breakfast, so Kurotsuchi quickly wrapped things up. "Well, 'Z' Yotsuki, it was nice talking to you, but it looks like my relief is here, so I'm gonna get some sleep, good luck." "Yeah, you too Kurotsuchi, it was nice to meet you."

 _-The Next Day-_

Like many hotels the hotel being used as the staging area for the 1st round of the exams included a restaurant, and outside of the breakfast buffet it was the only way for the exam takers to eat meals besides Room Service. Naruto walked into the Restaurant at noon sharp to see it packed with exam takers. Omoi was too paranoid to leave the room, and Karui was sleeping, so he was on his own. The Restaurant was fairly small, and there wasn't a single table open, but Naruto was surprised to see one of the two Konoha kunoichi he had met on the 1st day waving him over to take the final seat at a booth she was sharing with her team.

"Z-san please join us, we just got a table ourselves, and had to wait 30 minutes for it." said Tenten. "Wow, thanks Tenten-san, how are you?" "I'm fine, Z-san how are you? Oh bye the way these are my teammates for this exam, Neji Huya and Shino Aburame. Please excuse their dull moods. Shino-kun never says much, and Neji-kun is still not over the fact that Shino-kun beat him in the biggest upset of our last Chunin Exam. "

"Pleasure to meet both of you, my name is Z Yotsuki, future Raikage." "Quite an interesting first name you have, Yotsuki-san, but I was under the impression that "A" was the codename used for Raikages," said Shino. "Well, yeah Z is just a codename, and I can't be A until I'm actually Raikage. Raikage-oji-sama's real first name is actually A, but that's only because his father was Raikage as well, so Raikage-oji-sama was sort of born to be Raikage I guess." said Naruto.

"So they classify your first name, but not your last name, that doesn't make sense." responded Tenten. "Well, I mean, it would be pretty easy for anyone to figure out my last name, since I live in a clan compound. Plus, the Yotsuki clan is the most prestigious clan in Kumo, so even when a clan member has a codename our last name tends to stay public as a clan pride thing." "Hm. and what would your worthless clan know about clan pride?" quipped the Hyuga. "Well, I've never really thought about it, but there aren't a lot of clans in Kumo, and ours is the biggest, so I guess we are pretty prestigious."

"Ha, no clan is as powerful as the Hyuga clan." "The Hyuga? I don't think I've heard of you. My uncle's the clan head, maybe I'll ask him about your clan, Neji-san." "So you are also a clan head's nephew? you must be branch family like me, you have my condolences."

Unsure what a Branch Family was Naruto asked for clarification. The response he received appalled him. It seemed that the Hyuga clan was divided into two distinct groups, with the vast majority of the clan acting as nothing more than glorified servants to the head of the clan, and the clan head's wife, and chosen successor, along with a few elders.

Naruto couldn't imagine a world where he had to be his cousin's servant. He thought that was dumb and said so. This only enraged Neji and a fierce debate over clans and fate ensued. Tenten and Shino tried to stay neutral, but when directly asked by Naruto Shino confirmed that the Aburame clan hierarchy was more similar to the Yotsuki clan hierarchy than the Hyuga. Eventually Neji stormed off, leaving Tenten and Shino to only mutter quick apologies to Naruto as they went after their teammate.

 _-A couple of days later-_

It was 10 pm and team 2 were all asleep in their room, Karui and Omoi each occupying one of the room's twin beds, while Naruto had opted to crash on the couch. Suddenly they were all awoken by a loud banging at the door and a woman's voice yelling: "Kumogakure Genin Team 2, 1st Exam team #13. You're up, if you are not in the lobby in 10 minutes you fail. Take all that you will need with you, the rest of your belongings will be transferred to the other hotel for you to access after the exam is over." Even though they were tired the three friends couldn't help but grin at each other, it was finally their turn.

They made it to the lobby in 6 minutes, where they were met by a proctor who took them outside of Kumo's gates and to a small tent. Inside they found Atsui sitting in front of a map. "Good evening, as you know the first exam is a time trial simulation that will test your stealth and intelligence gathering skills. Here are the rules. When you depart the time will start. When you successfully return to me the timer will stop. Each time a member of the squad is detected during the mission 10 minutes will be added on to the total time. There are 18 teams participating. If you fail your mission you will fail the exam. If one of your members is captured or incapacitated you will fail the exam. The 9 teams with the best time who successfully complete the mission will advance to the 2nd exam. That means that at minimum 50% of the teams will fail. All teams will be given the exact same mission."

He paused to see if there were any questions about the rules, and then jumped into the mission breifing. "In this simulation you will be heading to a village 10 miles NW of here, I've marked it on a map for you. The village is ruled by a noble family that is unpopular amongst the people, but not enough for there to be rebellion. In this simulation your client is someone who wants to rule the village themselves and has hired your village to dig up any information on the noble that may help provoke rebellion. Your mission is to enter the village, find, and bring back indisputable evidence of the noble family doing things that may provoke rebellion. Once you leave the tent the timer will start, good luck." "Wait, there isn't a village 10 miles northwest of here." noted Omoi. "That's true, we've created a temporary village for this simulation, now get going." responded Atsui.

A half mile out of the village Naruto stopped running. "Hold up for one minute guys, doing this now will save us some time when we get there." Naruto drew blood then made a few hand signs and slammed his hand onto the ground. "Summoning Jutsu" As the smoke from the Jutsu cleared a Great Horned Owl approximately 4 and a half feet tall appeared." "Greeting Z-san, what can I do for you today?" asked the owl after noting that Naruto wasn't alone. "It's ok Mimi-chan, these are my teammates Omoi and Karui, they know my secret." "Ah, well than what can I do for you Naruto-san?"

Naruto quickly explained the situation to Mimi before getting to the point: "Can you fly ahead and scout out the village, get us a couple places that might be good to gather information at as well as anything you can on what their security is like?" "Of course Naruto-san, I shall meet you a quarter mile outside of the village."

With that the owl shrunk down to the size of a normal owl and flew off. "Whoah, you finally got your personal summon Naruto?" asked an amazed Karui. "Yep, Mimi-chan is the youngest daughter of Ichijoji-dono, head of the owl can, I got to summon her for the first time while training with Yugito-ne-chan." said a grinning Naruto. "We should get going now, the clock is still running." added Omoi.

They ran the rest of the way in silence, too focused on the mission for formalities. As the most level headed, even tempered, and paranoid member of the team Omoi's mind was working to come up with contingency plans. He had long ago realized that, while his teammates were both precious to him, they were hotheads who tended to let their emotions guide their actions, and he had taken it upon himself to be the group strategist.

Karui was supremely confident in her abilities, and as they ran she was imagining herself being handed a chunin flack jacket by the Raikage. Naruto, normally just as confident as Karui, was struggling to stay focused. While he had settled the identity crisis he had after his heritage was revealed he still hadn't come to grips with his anger at the adults in his life who had hid his ancestry from him, and occasionally his mind would wander to that. _Raikage-oji-sama, B-sensei, Kaa-san, Otousan, Gennai-oji-sama,_ _Yugito-neechan, why? Do you not trust_ me? While his loyalty to Kumo was not in question Naruto's trust in the adults in his life had been shaken, but even as he questioned their judgment he knew he shouldn't be dwelling on them yet.

 _Come on Naruto, get it together! You can deal with all of that after you make_ _chunin, focus on the mission!_ The three continued in this fashion all the way to their destination. They only stopped about a quarter mile from the village because they saw an owl waiting for them.

"Hey Mimi-chan, what did you find out?" asked Naruto. "Quite a bit, Naruto-san. The large compound at the northern end of the village is where the lord in question lives. He seems to have his own private security force of shinobi who act as both his bodyguards and village law enforcement. I witnessed a couple of them being quite cruel to civilians. There is no gate or anything you must pass through to get into the village, though the roads in and out are monitored by hidden shinobi. They also have several patrolling in teams of three. The village is relatively small, but I would estimate they have at least 50 shinobi on duty in the village right now and another 50 at the lord's estate on guard duty _."_

 _Damn, that's a lot_ thought Naruto. _This guy is even_ _more paranoid_ _than me_ , mused Omoi. "As you know the owl clan has the same ability to hear chakra as the Yotsuki clan, and I noticed that many villagers have the exact same sounding chakra. I can only conclude that the majority, but not all, of the people in this village are actually elemental clones that have used Henge to disguise themselves as villagers or other guards," concluded the owl. "Elemental \ clones, are those different than normal clones?" asked a confused Naruto.

"Baka, how do you not know about Elemental Clones?" asked Karui. "Instead of just making a clone you infuse your chakra nature into the clone technique. It makes them more durable than normal clones. " "Oh, well I guess you learn something new everyday." said Naruto to a frustrated Karui, who then turned her attention back to the owl.

"Mimi-san, did you find any places where we might be able to gather information?" "Yes Karui-san. I witnessed a couple of the lord's guards get off duty and directly proceed to a particular tavern. I also overheard them mention that it is the preferred bar of many of the town shinobi.""Excellent, let's just get them drunk and then they'll spill the beans!" exclaimed Karui.

"Karui...we're only 14." pointed out Naruto. "Old enough to kill, old enough to drink mind control drug laced liquids." countered Omoi. After noticing the blank stares from 2 humans and an owl he added: "What, that's one of the oldest conspiracy theories out there, how do you not know that one?" This earned a laugh from Karui and chuckle from Naruto, who thanked and dismissed Mimi as the three teammates gathered their cool, and headed toward the village.

It was just after 12:30am when Team 2 split up and promised to meet each other back where they had met with Mimi in just over 3 hours. Karui used Henge to appear to be a woman in her early 20s and headed into the the tavern Mimi had mentioned. It was packed with off duty shinobi, many of whom were eager to flirt with attractive women.

Karui quickly bribed the bartender to just give her a non alcoholic drink that looked like an alcoholic drink, and tell anyone who asked what she was drinking was the alcoholic variety. The bar tender got a 2nd bribe so that anytime someone ordered a drink for her he would just give her a non alcoholic version. Karui wasn't against drinking, but she wanted to keep her wits about her for the mission.

She did however order a variety of beverages for other patrons, hoping to get them to loosen their tongues. Eventually she found herself flirting with a very drunk man who claimed to be one of the feudal lord's personal guards, and who was only too willing to gossip about his employer with the pretty woman paying for his drinks.

"The other day *hic* his lordship went down into the dungeon, and I went with'm *hic*. "He went to make fun of this prisoner *hic*. Turns out the prisoner is actually the last democratically elected mayor of the village *hic* who we all thought went missing. His lordship didn like what he was dooooin' an' threw his s'ry ass in *hic* j-jail." "Ha! what a stupid old man" laughed Karui. "I want to go make fun of him too. How do I find him?"

Her conversation partner was too drunk to realize that he shouldn't be telling a strange woman how to get to the prison. "It's on the bottom floor of the palace, last cell in the southwest corner." said the man before finishing his drink. _Perfect, this worked like a charm, man am I great or what?_ thought Karui. _Plus I slipped a drug in that guy's drink so he won't remember anything_ _tomorrow, and this is just a simulation anyways, so he's probably a clone. It's been almost 3 hours. I have to hurry back to meet up with the guys._

At 3:30, about 5 hours into the exam, team 2 met back up. Karui shared her great success in the tavern. Omoi had infiltrated the palace compound and taken a look around. In an office building near the back of the compound he had found some financial documents that implied that there may be some corruption in the administration, but he would need more time and cover to analyze them and see if they were worthwhile.

Naruto had infiltrated the palace itself, and noted that while the lord was heavily guarded he couldn't find anything that would help them. Since it seemed that no matter what they would have to get into the compound they decided to try for both pieces of evidence. It was Sunday, and the office building was likely to be deserted, so they decided that Omoi would go back and take a closer look at the documents, and copy and steal any that he thought they might need.

Karui would infiltrate the dungeon, find a hiding spot, and wait for a signal. Depending on that signal she would either simply leave, or attempt to break out the former mayor. Naruto would be pulling triple duty. The original Naruto would stay with Omoi and act as a lookout. Naruto would also use multi shadow clone jutsu and Henge in order to have a couple of shadow clones in position to help Karui if necessary. The vast majority of his shadow clones would be digging a tunnel from the office building to the dungeon, providing an escape route. At 4am, with 2 hours before sunrise, the group took off to put their plan in motion.

- _3 hours later_ -

 _I'm glad it's a weekend and none of these 20 accountants are coming in soon. Still, if a local Daimyo needs 20 accountants how many does the Daimyo of the_ _whole Land of Lighting need?_ thought Omoi as he continued to comb through records.

It was obvious that corruption was rampant in the local lord's administration. Tax money that was supposed to go towards schools was going towards lavish gifts for his multiple mistresses, and copies of tax documents submitted to the Lightning Daimyo's administration painted a very different financial picture that what the local Daimyo's internal documents showed.

There was so much evidence of corruption that Omoi still wasn't done collecting documents. Meanwhile Naruto's shadow clones had made good time on the tunnel. It only had to go about 200 feet, and while the process had started off slowly, once the hole was big enough for more and more clones to be in it the pace had picked up rapidly, until, that is, they were at the foundation of the palace. They then carefully created a tiny hole in the foundation, just big enough for them to see through. The foundation was thick, so the hole itself was several inches long, but the lead clone cold clearly see through to the other side, where there was a young man sitting inside a prison cell.

- _With Karui-_

It had been no problem for Karui to infiltrate the palace, she had used henge to appear to be a guard and had made her way to the prison with surprisingly little effort. Once there she had been pleased to see that the cell that was closes to where Naruto's clones would be coming from was empty, so she locked herself inside and then henge'd into a prisoner and dozed off to sleep. A couple of hours later she was woken up by a small amount of rubble and a very small scroll landing on her head.

She looked up to see a tiny hole that wasn't there before. _The baka must be ready_ she thought before opening the scroll. "Ready when you are" it said. She new from her Tavern mission that there were about 2 hours until the guards would come down this far into the prison to serve breakfast, and that in the meantime, as long as things were quiet, she would be left alone.

She sent a signal back to the clones to quietly work on making a man sized hole in the foundation before using the substitution technique to end up in the former mayor's cell. "If you want to get out of here stay quiet". she said. First she picked the lock on the cell door, and on her cell door, ushering the man into her cell. She then helped the clones widen the hole in the wall. Soon it was big enough to pass through, and one of Naruto's shadow clones took a place in the mayor's old cell, using Henge to look like the mayor, while Karui and the mayor escaped back through the tunnel.

The last challenge the team faced was how to get the mayor out of the village. They figured he would be recognizable, so they couldn't just walk him out, and since he was a civilian they assumed he couldn't use the henge, so there was quite a debate, with Omoi expounding a caution approach, while Naruto and Karui wanted to just get it over with.

In the end Naruto and Karui, both being excitable and reckless, broke into the stables and stole a horse and carriage. This caught the attention of the guards, but they were not prepared for the situation, and Naruto and co. blew right by them. The carriage also helped them make it back to Atsui's tent in half the time it took them to get to the village. "Team 2 reporting in Atsui-san." said Karui. "We have both the former mayor of the village, who was being held captive by the local Daimyo, and several documents showing corruption in his administration." she concluded while Omoi handed over the files.

"Excellent work team 2, I'm pleased to say that you are the first team that rescued me." said the mayor, who quickly released his henge revealing a Kumo chunin. "Though all 3 of you were spotted in the escape, so that does add 30 minutes on to your total time." added Atsui. Go to the other hotel and wait for the results.

- _3 Days Later-_

Word got around the hotel that all teams were done, and that 2 separate debriefings were going to occur, each with 9 teams. It was pretty obvious, that one of those debriefings was for the 50% that passed, and the other was for the 50% that failed. Team 2 showed up to their briefing room and were pleased to see both team 1 and team 5 were there, though they seemed to be the only 3 Kumo teams. In addition 2 of the 3 Iwa teams, including Kurotsuchi's team, and both of the Konoha teams, were present. The debriefing was rounded out by the teams from the Hidden Star and Hidden Snow.

Once all were seated Atsui started the debriefing. "As you recall a minimum of 50% of the teams were going to fail automatically. Of the 18 teams 13 completed the mission, so we used the total time to determine who would be moving on. I'm pleased to tell you that all of you are moving on to the next round." The wave of cheers from the exam takers was quickly silenced by the massive amount of killing intent being let out by the person standing next to Atsui.

"I am Moroi, I am the proctor for the 2nd round of the exams. The second round will begin tomorrow, and you will stay here one more night. Be in the lobby at 4:30am sharp or you automatically fail. As with the first round fighting is currently not allowed, though that will change once the 2nd round actually starts. I will see you all tomorrow morning." with that both Moroi and Atsui poofed out of the the room, leaving small clouds of smoke in their place.

-End of Chapter-

* * *

Original Commentary:

Thanks for your patience while I wrote this chapter, been pretty a very busy week for me. The next chapter most likely won't be out until a week from today at earliest, and if nothing is out in 2 weeks I'll post an update explaining why.

As of 09/15/17 I updated chapter 4 (The titled Chapter 4, not the 4th chapter, which would be ch 2 part 2.) because I realized I accidentally left out a relatively important paragraph that explains why Naruto changed his appearance for the exams. It somehow didn't make it from the Google Doc to this interface, and I missed it in my final check. It is now back where it should be. It starts at the heading _At The Same Time, The Raikage's Office._

To the anonymous reviewer asking about Hinata: I'm in no way anti-Hinata, however in the show it is pretty obvious Naruto is Hinata's main motivation for bettering herself, so since in this scenario she hasn't met him I'm currently envisioning her as her quiet, shy, no confidence having normal self, just without anything to push her and make her better, just the negativity from her clan. Not to say that couldn't change, though I don't think she is going to be a regular character in this story. Maybe she'll show up in one of the Interludes though?

So team 5 consists of 3 actual Kumo shinobi, who based on the pictures on their narutopedia pages could be around the same age as naruto. (Narutopedia does provide an approximate age for Yukai, but I am just making a guess on the other two). J is also a real kumo character, and Moroi is the head of Kumo's Barrier Team.

This is by far my longest chapter, and my first attempt at any real action, so I hope to continue to improve from here. At this point I think I'm better with shorter chapters, but I had a request to write a longer chapter, so I made this one longer than all the others, though to me it felt like I was kinda grasping at straws at times. Next chapter will be the 2nd exam, and there will be an actual fight with at least one other genin team, so I hope you look forward to it.

Chapter 5. references:  
The title of the chapter is reminiscent of Sarastro's Aria "O Isis und Osiris" from W.A. Mozart's _Die Zauberflöte_. Both in terms of the titles being similar and that the content involves praying to deities. I'm not a huge opera person, but there are a few of them that I really like, including _Die Zauberflöte_ , and this Aria is easily my favorite music from any opera I'm familiar with. (Honorable mention goes to the Hunter's chorus from _Der Freischütz_ if anyone cares).

Updated Commentary:

I unintentionally have some foreshadowing in this chapter. I mention something, and then forgot that I mentioned it. A few chapters later, what do you know the same thing happens! Not a big deal though. When I go back and update/revise/edit that chapter I'll probably fill in the plot hole somehow.

Thanks for reading.  
-Col. Bogey


	11. Chapter 7: The 2nd Exam

-I don't own Naruto. Naruto was created by Kishimoto, please support the official release. Thanks for reading my first attempt at fan fiction-

 _Italics are thoughts. -Italics inside hyphens are the setting-_

* * *

- _The Next Morning-_

At 4:30am all of the 9 teams were waiting outside the hotel when Moroi appeared in front of them. "Good Morning, the 1st thing I need everyone to do is find a proctor and fill out a release form. Fighting, and even killing is allowed during the 2nd exam, so I need your consent that neither I, nor any of the other proctors or participants, nor Kumogakure itself can be held liable should you die."

Once everyone had filled out and turned in a waiver Moroi continued. "The last exam tested your speed, team work with those you are familiar with, and intelligence gathering. This exam will again test your speed, in addition to your tracking, locating, and hunting skills, and your ability to work with a team you aren't as familiar with." A murmur of concerned voices rose up as Moroi finished explaining what the test was measuring.

"Quiet down, Quiet down, and let me explain the procedure to you. We have placed you in a new squad. The only thing we purposely did was make sure that none of your normal teammates are in the same squad as you, other than that the process was random. I should let you know that in at least one instance an Iwa nin and a Konoha nin will be in the same squad, so I hope those people's teamwork skills are good."

 _I'd hate to be in a_ _squad with both Iwa and Konoha, I'd probably be so busy stopping them from killing each other that we would never get anything done_ thought everyone not from Iwa or Konoha, while the representatives of those two villages just glared at each other. Moroi broke the tension by continuing with his explanation.

"Your new team will be going on a scavenger hunt of sorts. You'll be given a scroll with everything that you must find and bring to the Raikage's tower. Some items will have more than enough for every team to have one, but for some items there will be fewer than 9, meaning not all of you can pass. For 1 item only 5 of them exist, so at maximum only 15 of you will be moving on to the next round. Some items are here in Kumo, others you will have to leave the village to find. Within Kumo there will be absolutely no fighting, doing so will get you disqualified, outside of Kumo there are no rules. You will have exactly 72 hours from when I say go. If you show up later than that you will fail, if you return with fewer than 3 living members you fail as well. Since you will likely be traveling in and out of the village you should be aware that the gates close at dusk and open at dawn, and remember no fighting inside the village. When I call your name come up to meet your new team and receive your scroll. Do not open your scroll until I say go."

Naruto watched as other exam participants were called up to form their new teams. Karui was paired up with two Konoha kunoichi, Sakura Haruno, and Ino Yamanaka. He had met Ino prior to the first exam and new a bit about her personality. _I'm glad I'm not on that team, too many bossy girls_ thought Naruto. Omoi was paired up with an Iwa shinobi and a Snow shinobi.

Ran ended up with a kunoichi from hidden Star named Hokuto and Shino Aburame, whom Naruto had also met prior to taking the 1st exam. Nurui and Kyoji were paired up with an Iwa Kunoichi, Domon was paired with the arrogant Hyuga, Neji, and another Konoha shinobi named Choji. Rain was on the same team as a shinobi from Iwa and a Star shinobi, Yukai found himself paired up with young shinobi from Iwa and Snow.

Naruto was growing impatient, when finally he heard: "Next team, from Kumo Z Yotsuki, from Iwa Kurotsuchi, and from Konoha: Tenten!" _Crap! It_ _had to be me paired up with both Iwa and Konoha, not only do the two villages hate each other, but they would also both have a good reason to want me_ _dead if they knew who I was! At least I already know both of these two girls_ thought Naruto.

The final team was announced as Naruto walked up to meet his new temporary teammates, but he couldn't hear it over the sounds of Kurotsuchi and Tenten screaming at each other. "I can't believe I got paired up with some Konoha trash. Me, the Tsuchikage's granddaughter, working with some trash from Konoha? Never!" "I don't get what your problem is, we were either babies or not yet born last time our villages were at war. Konoha's moved on, why can't Iwa be mature enough to move on too?" countered Tenten.

"Ladies, please, stop fighting or we are never going to be promoted." pleaded Naruto. "Z, tell the proctor to get us a new teammate, I can't work with this bitch!" shouted both Kunoichi at the same time, while pointing at each other. Naruto took a deep breath and looked around to see sympathetic glances from his friends before trying to reason with the two irate kunoichi.

"Look, ladies, Iwa and Konoha aren't currently at war are they?" he asked. "No." they both responded in unison while glaring at each other. "Do you want to be a genin forever?" "No." again they both responded. "So do you want to get promoted this exam?" "Yes." "So isn't the best way to do that by temporarily working together? The next round is probably a tournament, so you can always fight then."

"Fine." said Tenten before extending a hand to Kurotsuchi "truce?" Kurotsuchi glared at both Tenten and Naruto for what felt like several minutes, thought it was actually only about half a minute, clearly weighing her options. "Fine, only until the next round though, and I still think you're a piece of Konoha trash." said Kurotsuchi taking Tenten's hand, though still glaring at her. _Phew, glad they calmed down_ thought Naruto as he let out a deep sigh of relief and wiped his brow.

 _So the kid was able to_ _deescalate the situation. I'd heard rumor that he was very personable and hard to dislike, that seems to be the case_ thought Moroi before turning to face the teams. "If everyone is ready then we will begin on my mark, Good Luck! 3...2...1...Go!" Some teams ran off to open their scroll in privacy, others tore it open right on the spot, the 2nd exam was on!

- _With Omoi and his team-_

Omoi found that he didn't really have much to complain about with his team. Like him they were both fairly calm individuals, and they were deferring to his leadership since he was local and knew the terrain. _This would never happen on Team 2,_ Omoi thought. _Karui, Naruto, and even B-sensei are all so stubborn and_ _hot-headed. I love them all, but it's kind of nice to not be the only sane one on the squad. I hope neither of these guys are secretly Crab-people_.

His team had decided to gather all of the things they could only find outside the village first. That way it would be more difficult for other teams to steal those items while they were finishing up inside the village, where fighting was prohibited. They were currently about half a day outside of Kumo, heading towards the Genbu, where a couple of different items on the scroll could be found.

"So you're saying this, Genbu, is a giant turtle? That sounds like a conspiracy theory!" commented the Iwa nin on the team. "I'm telling you, it is, and there are a lot of dangerous ninja animals there, it is pretty standard for the 2nd exam to at least partially involve Genbu." "How do you know that?" asked Omoi's Snow teammate. "Easy, I'm a conspiracy theorist! I did all sorts of research on the chunin exams to make sure I was prepared!" grinned a triumphant Omoi.

- _With Karui, Ino, and Sakura-_

Kumo's gate guards were truly in awe of how much time 3 genin could waste arguing. It was early evening and Sakura, Ino, and Karui had found a couple items on their list, but had spent the last hour and a half just inside of Kumo's gates arguing about what item to get next. "No Ino-Pig, we should go get the Porn book. It'll be easy, all we have to do is ask Kakashi-sensei for his copy."

"Shut up Forehead! I can't believe stupid Kumo would even put something so disgusting in this scavenger hunt, we should save that for later and go get the Raikage's Academy scores, there probably aren't enough copies for every team, so we need to get one quick. Isn't that right Tomato Head?" Ino asked Karui, using Konoha's standard derogatory nickname for people with red hair.

At first Karui had tried to stay out of the argument, but she was just as hot tempered as her new teammates, and it had only taken a bit of prodding for her to join in as well. "You are both stupid. Pinky we can wait on the book, and Skank how dare you call my village stupid. As I've been saying we should start making our way towards the mountains, It'll take at least half a day to get there and a couple of things on our list are out there!". _I can't believe these three_ thought Kumo's gate guards, with dumbfounded looks on their faces.

 _-With Neji, Choji, and Domon-_

While most teams were getting set to camp out for the 1st night Neji, Choji, and Domon were taking advantage of Neji's Byakugan, and Domon's familiarity with the area, to try to ambush other teams and steal any items they may have found. "I see another team inside a cave about a half mile away, looks like they are sitting down to dinner. It's a Kumo nin who looks like he should still be in the academy, an Iwa nin, and a Snow nin." observed Neji

"Yukai must be the Kumo-nin. He's young but he's a genius. He skipped a couple of grades and ended up graduating with me in the academy. Really dangerous with a sword." responded Domon. "Can we steal their dinner as well? I'm hungry." said Choji. "You just ate." "Yeah I just had supper, now I'm ready for dinner." "Domon-san, you should know that an Akimichi is always hungry, he won't ever pass up food." said a smirking Neji, "Now let's go."

They silently crept up to the cave entrance before Neji whispered: "you two hit them fast, then I'll come in and clean up with my Gentle Fist. Go!" With that Choji let out a cry of "Expansion Jutsu" followed by "Human Boulder" as he grew in size before turning into a large boulder-esque ball and tearing through the cave.

Meanwhile Domon had started spinning, and soon he was spinning so quickly that the only part of his body that was visible was his head, which somehow was staying completely stationary. "Launch Me!" he cried and Neji shoved him into the cave, with the spinning motion providing Domon with the rest of the momentum he needed. Yukai and co. were caught completely off guard by the twin attacks, though Yukai was able to evade both of them. Neji had darted in right behind Domon, and quickly disabled the opposing team's chakra points using his Byakugan.

-20 minutes _Later-_

Yukai awoke to find he and his teammates restrained while Neji and Domon were sorting through their packs looking for items to steal. Choji was happily munching on their dinner. "It's bad enough you guys are stealing our stuff, did you have to let the fatty eat our food too? shouted Yukai's Iwa teammate." Neji looked horrified, while Choji, whose back was to the captured Genin stopped eating.

"What did you call me?" he asked. "I said stop eating our food fatty." responded the Iwa shinobi. "How dare you! I'm not fat, I'm just Chubby!" roared Choji as he raced towards the bound genin. Neji looked away while saying to Domon "Domon-san, let this be a friendly warning, never call an Akimichi fat." "Domon simply nodded, with a truly terrified look on his face. The screams from the helpless Iwa nin and his teammates could be heard well into the night.

- _With Naruto, Tenten, and Kurotsuchi-_

Naruto and his two Kunoichi teammates were finishing up in a small town in the mountains. They had run hard to get to the mountains, and had spent most of the day searching for items on their scroll, finding quite a few. Their plan was to finish in the mountains the next morning before heading to Genbu, and then finishing up in Kumo itself. Kurotsuchi and Tenten had hardly said a word to each other, often using Naruto as a go-between.

While it was definitely an upgrade over screaming at each other Naruto was still concerned about how their blatant animosity would impact their teamwork if combat was necessary, so he had gone out of his way to try to encourage the two kunoichi to get along. The mountains in the middle of the Land of Lightning were known for both Resort Towns full of hot springs, and mines producing precious metals.

After they had ended their searching for the day near one of the mines Naruto had taken the team to the nearest resort town, treating his teammates to dinner at a Ramen stand. After much convincing he had also gotten Kurotsuchi and Tenten into a hot spring together, while he went to try to find a spot near town to make camp. He thought about getting a hotel, but paying for the girls' dinner and relaxation had put too much of a dent in his wallet.

Kurotsuchi and Tenten stayed pretty quiet in the hot spring, trying to ignore each other's presence. After a while some of Naruto's words from earlier in the day started to drift into Tenten's mind. " _You two need to find a way to get along, we could be killed in this round, so we all need to have each other's backs" He's_ _right_ she though, _I don't really have anything against this girl other than the fact that she hates my home. I wonder why?_

"Just so you know if we end up in a fight this round I've got your back, but only for this round." said Tenten. "Yeah, I guess I can't make it to the next round if you're dead, so for now I've got your back too trash." responded Kurotsuchi.

"If you don't mind my asking, why do you hate Konoha so much, you couldn't have been more than a year or so old when the war ended?" "That bastard, the Yellow Flash, your 4th Hokage, he killed my mother, he single handedly murdered her and thousands of others from my village." "Well I'm sorry you lost your mother, but a lot of people from Konoha died in the war too. My dad died in the war before I was even born, then my mom died in the Nine-Tails attack. I was only a year old when she died. I grew up in an orphanage with no family. Be glad you at least still had your dad and your grandpa."

Kurotsuchi's eyes went wide before she quietly continued "Wow I'm sorry to hear that, not even Konoha trash deserve to grow up without a family, except for the Yellow Flash's family of course."

After a few minutes of awkward silence Kurotsuchi extended her hand. "We got off on the wrong foot, but we are working together, and while I don't trust you it seems that Z-san does, so let's try again. Kurotsuchi, future Tsuchikage, nice to meet you." Naruto had left a shadow clone in the men's side of the hot springs, not to peek, he wasn't a pervert, but to listen and be able to step in if the two tried to kill each other. Hearing that Kurotsuchi and Tenten were getting a fresh start the clone smiled. _Seems like those two are finally starting to get along,_ thought the clone, _I guess I should_ _let the Boss know_ , and with that the clone released itself and disappeared in a poof of smoke.

 _-4:30am the next morning, 24 hours down, 48 hours to go_ -

Ran, Shino, and Hokuto were up bright and early. They had a very successful first day, in no small part due to how easily the team jelled. While Hokuto and Shino didn't know each other personally they had several mutual acquaintances due to a mission some Konoha shinobi had recently undertaken to help the Hidden Star Village, so Hokuto trusted Shino.

Shino didn't say much of anything, but he was an excellent tracker, and his bugs had flown ahead to keep an eye on enemies and hunt for the items on their list. Ran was a fairly relaxed person, and found both of her temporary teammates endearing. In addition to getting along fairly well the team's abilities were well suited to the exam.

Ran was particularly skilled with her Tanto, and was point woman in combat for the team. Shino's beetles made excellent scouts, and their ability to drain chakra was useful in a fight. Hokuto was a decent sensor ninja, and her particular manifestation of Hoshigakure's signature Kujaku technique was to create chakra ropes, useful for restraining enemies or helping to retrieve items.

Hoshigakure's signature Kujaku technique involved the shinobi absorbing radiation from an ancient meteor, and had been banned by one of the village's previous leaders, before being reinstated after a coup overthrew said leader. The reason for its temporary ban was the devastating effect radiation poisoning was having on its citizens.

During the brief rule of Akahoshi, who had led the coup, Hoshi and the Land of Bears had tried to pivot its foreign policy away from the Kumo-Iwa alliance to the Konoha-Suna alliance, and as such had contracted out a mission to Konoha. The team assigned the mission, led by Might Gai, had unintentionally uncovered the coup and helped restore order in the village, which had the unintended side effect of pivoting Hoshi back into Kumo's sphere of influence, but not before Konoha's Hokage, the famous medical-nin Tsunade, had developed a pill that helped to prevent radiation poisoning, allowing Hoshi's ninjas to safely use the Kujaku technique.

Even though they were loyal allies of Kumo, Konoha's kindness had clearly rubbed-off on Hoshi, as Hokuto was delighted to be working with a Konoha shinobi, even if it wasn't one she personally knew. "Shino-kun, Ran-chan, Let's get going, I think if we run fast enough and don't run into any other teams we could finish this mission before we go to bed." "Yeah, Hokuto-chan, we're kicking ass on this 2nd exam, aren't we Shino-kun?" "I too am pleased, that's because not only are we doing very well, but even I am enjoying the camaraderie of this team. I believe we can be one of the first teams to finish."

The fact that Shino spoke multiple sentences at a time was indicative of just how much he was enjoying the team chemistry. Hokuto seemed to have paid special attention to Shino's mannerisms: _He doesn't say much, and it's hard to tell what he really looks like, but what I can see looks very_ _attractive, and what he says is always insightful, he's just one big mystery_ she thought, _and I like mysteries._

- _8am, Kumo's Jonin Lounge_ -

A small corner of Kumo's Jonin lounge had been walled off to create a space for the jonin leaders of the various teams taking the Chunin exams to have a meeting place while they were in town. The jonin were bored. They had nothing to do all day but sit around a wait for results, and Kumo had chosen a 1st exam that took several days to complete.

As was often the case when bored jonin from various villages were crammed together in a tight space tensions had started to rise. Due to the extra tension of having Konoha and Iwa in the same exam the Raikage had ordered the Kumo jonin leaders to "buddy up" with the Iwa and Kumo leaders, making sure they had Kumo peacekeepers with them at all times. This is how it came to be that Kakashi and Asuma found themselves in the company of Killer B.

Kakashi was flipping through his copy of Jiraya's book "Make Out Tactics" and seemed oblivious to all that was going on around him. Asuma and B sat in awkward silence, with Asuma smoking on a cigarette. Seemingly out of nowhere Kakashi broke the ice. "So B-san, which of the adorable little genin in this exam are yours?"

"It's Hachibi-sama to you, ya fool! But the rapper Killer-B, that be me, with my students Omoi, Karui, and Z!" "Oh, Z-san is your student eh? We met him in a restaurant the day before the exams started. I can't quite put my finger on why, but he seems like the kind of kid I want to keep my other eye on." said Kakashi while motioning to the eye covered by his leaf headband. "Kakashi...did you just try to make a Sharingan joke?" asked a slightly bewildered Asuma. _This is bad, this isn't rad, does Hatake suspect Z, that the 9-tails Jinchuriki is he? I gotta talk to Bro, He's gotta know,_ thought B.

- _With Omoi and his team-_

"Cloud Style: Crescent Moon Slice!" yelled Omoi as he swung his sword in front of him, cutting through several wires. "I know you're there Nurui, you may as well come out and fight for once. Don't let Kyoji and your other teammate do everything." Omoi took a quick moment to survey the battle field. Nearby Kyoji was unleashing a fearsome taijutsu assault on Omoi's armor wearing teammate from Yukigakure, Argo Kazahana.

"Water Style: Water Bullet Jutsu" came the response, forcing Kyoji back. On the other side of Omoi two Iwa genin, normally on the same team, were clearly enjoying the opportunity to test themselves against each other. "Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu" called Omoi's teammate, who left his kunoichi opponent with only her head showing above the ground. "Earth Style: Hidden Mole Jutsu" came her response as she dug her way out of the ground.

 _This isn't good. Kyoji's been trained by the best Taijutsu master in_ _the Land of Lighting, Argo's barely able to keep up. The two Iwa ninja are too evenly matched, they could fight forever. I need to deal with this now, before_ _Nurui comes up with a plan to beat us. Sorry B-sensei, I know I'm still learning this jutsu, I know it drains too much of my chakra, and I know it's letting my cat_ _out of the bag a little too early, but I don't have a choice._ Omoi began running through a series of hand signs. _Tiger, Snake, Tiger, Bird, Tiger, Ram. All right,_ _here goes nothing_ "Raiton: Thunderbolt!"

Bolts of Lighting shot out of Omoi's hands engulfing Kyoji and the Iwa Kunoichi, who both screamed in pain before falling to the ground. As Omoi's teammates moved to restrain their opponents Omoi himself fell to his knees, breathing very heavily. _Yep, this thing takes a lot_ _out of me, I won't be able to help against Nurui_. "Watch out for the other one, he doesn't like fighting but he's great with traps and is really smart. Take him out while I recover some of my chakra from that attack."

- _With Karui, Ino, and Sakura_ -

The battle for dominance amongst the three short tempered Kunoichi had finally been settled. Over breakfast Ino had expressed her disgust at herself that she ever found the traitor Sauske Uchiha attractive. This was too much for Sakura, who was still in love with the rouge ninja. While she had only been Tsunade's apprentice for a couple of months, and had no where near the same lever of strength as her master, her strength was still far beyond that of a normal genin, and she tried to hit Ino with a powerful fist.

Ino had quickly dodged out of the way, yelling "Mind Transfer Jutsu" as she took over Karui's body. Using the blunt end of Karui's sword Ino had knocked Sakura unconscious and returned to her own body, only to to be knocked unconscious herself by a furious Karui.

It was now early afternoon, and the three were making great progress in locating items on their scroll, but even though the question of who was in charge had been settled the insults hadn't stopped. "Where to next, Tomato-sama?" asked Ino, putting a fair amount of sarcasm into the "sama". "We're heading to the mountains Skank-baka, maybe if you and Pinky-chan behave I'll let you have some time in a hot spring tonight. After all, all the dust and sweat from these last couple of days is making you look absolutely disgusting." Karui was cackling manically as she ducked under two Kunai thrown by her irate teammates. _These_ _girls are crazy, easy and fun to manipulate, but crazy. I wonder if everyone in Konoha is so easy to mess with?"_

- _With Neji, Domon, and Choji-_

Neji, Domon, and Choji had finished finding items in the Mountains and on the Genbu, and as the afternoon wore on they were making their way back towards the Hidden Cloud village, with a plan to try to get into town just before the gates closed. "I must say Domon-san I've been quite impressed with your taijutsu, I think we must be fated to fight at some point this exam, seeing as we are both labelled as geniuses."

"What can I say, I'm lucky enough to have been instructed in 'The School of the Undefeated of the East' by the King of Hearts himself. You're Taijutsu skills are also impressive, Neji-san, but I'd expect nothing less from a genius of the Hyuga clan who is also a student of Konoha's legendary marital artist the Green Beast." "Hmn." smirked Neji.

"Gai-sensei is indeed a Taijutsu master, but he is a complete idiot as well, and he can't really help me with my gentle fist. The only person on the team who is even worth more than a second of my time is Tenten, and even then only so she can help me train my agility and visual prowess with her weapons. Team 9 is mostly just a waste of my time. It's my destiny to make chunin at this exam and finally escape those failures that are my teammates." "Guys do either of you have any food? I didn't get to have Second Breakfast, Bruch, or Elevenses this morning, and it doesn't look like we will be stopping for Tea time either. I'm hungry." complained Choji.

 _-With Ran, Shino, and Hokuto_ -

The sun was just starting to set as Ran, Shino, and Hokuto confidently walked into the Raikage Tower. Seeing Moroi at a table off to the side of the lobby they quickly approached as Ran pulled out a sealing scroll, and began to unseal the various items kept inside. After confirming the authenticity of the items Moroi addressed the three genin. "Ran of Kumogakure, Shino of Konohagakure, and Hokuto of Hoshigakure, you three are the first three genin to pass the 2nd exam, congratulations."

- _With Naruto, Tenten, and Kurotsuchi_

"Nice work ladies, all we have left is to gather up the few items in Kumo that remain." said Nartuo as he and his two teammates raced through the Land of Lighting. While still tense the mood of the team had lifted since the day before, as while the two kunoichi still did not trust one another they were no longer openly antagonistic, and were at least willing to speak to each other, albeit in as few words as possible.

With Naruto's knowledge of the Genbu from his time training there with Yugito they had breezed through their objectives for the day. Their biggest success was picking up a very rare egg laid by one of the Ninja animals that inhabited the Genbu. Naruto suspected that this item was the of which only 5 existed, and had been ecstatic when he realized that his team had obtained the last one. They were now racing back to Kumo as quick as possible in order to finish the mission. It was night, and while in a hurry the trio was fairly relaxed, feeling confident that they would advance to the next round. They were perhaps too relaxed, as they didn't see three pair of eyes watching them from afar.

The trio had set up camp for the night just inside a cave. Naruto had the 2nd watch, and it was nearing the end of his shift. Having checked the back of the cave at the beginning of his shift he had spent most of his time sitting just inside the cave looking out over the surrounding areas. Suddenly Naruto heard a call of "Earth Style" from behind him, and found himself encased in stone up to just under his nose, rendering him unable to move or warn his teammates. The call of the jutsu had however woken both Kurotsuchi and Tenten up, and a battle ensued, as the two kunoichi fought the team consisting of kunoichi from Snow and Star, as well as a shinobi from Iwa.

Tenten had summoned a staff, and was in a furious battle with the Snow genin. Tenten was using the staff to keep her opponent at a distance. She had the upper-hand in the one-on-one fight, and was close to winning when the star kunoichi joined in. "Kujaku" the Hoshi genin called, as purple chakra came pouring out of her, slamming Tenten against the wall, and binding her to said wall as the chakra took the form of a rope.

"How did you get past Z-san?" Kurotsuchi called out to her countryman while fighting him. "Pretty easy actually, I just used Earth Style to tunnel under the entrance of the cave and come out in the back, now please let us look through what you've got and take what we need, I'd hate to have to hurt you, Kurotsuchi- chan. Tsuchikage-sama would not be happy with me."

The two Iwa-nin were engaged in a furious Taijutsu battle. Kurotsuchi landed a kick to her opponent's stomach before clocking a barrage of fists from her opponent. "Give up, Gramps trained me himself, there's no way you can win" taunted Kurotsuchi. Her opponent just smiled at her "You might be right, but both your teammates are restrained, let's see how you do in a 3 on 1" he responded as he was joined by his two teammates. "Maybe if I win you'll go on a date with me, Kuro-chan?" "Don't you dare call me Kuro or -chan you creep. You're one of the biggest pervs in the village, no way I'd ever go on a date with you, I'm the Tsuchikage's granddaughter, I have to have standards."

The Iwa shinobi's expression went from one of playful taunting to absolute fury as his teammates joined him in a furious assault on Kurotsuchi. Kurotsuchi was skilled, but even she couldn't handle 3 on 1, and she had promised not to use her own Kekkai Genkai until the finals, so she quickly found herself bound and restrained by the Hoshi genin, watching as her opponents were rummaging through her team's stuff.

They quickly found the storage scroll containing all of the scavenger hunt items and inspected them, before taking the rare egg from the Genbu. "We'll be taking this, hope you don't mind you cold bitch", said the Iwa shinobi, still livid at having his invitation to a date turned down. He was unable to fathom how anyone could turn down someone as "awesome" as he was. "You'll regret friend-zoning me, Kuro-chan." "Who said we were even friends jackass?" came her defiant response. "You'll pay for that bitch" He screamed. Blinded by his rage he wasn't fully aware that he had thrown a kunai straight at his kage's own granddaughter's face, and that she, being bound and restrained, was unable to dodge. He didn't realize he had done any of this until the Kunai was already in the air _Oh shit! What have I done? I just killed her! Tsuchikage-sama's gonna kill me!_

 _-A couple minutes earlier-_

Tenten woke up to find herself restrained by that strange purple chakra the Hoshi genin had used against her, however the restraints weren't particularly tight, and she was able to reach an emergency kunai she kept strapped to her stomach. As she attempted to saw through the chakra that was restraining her she surveyed the situation. _Z-san's almost completely covered in rocks, he's not going anywhere anytime soon. Looks like Kurotsuchi-san is is the same situation,_ _though her mouth isn't covered. Probably because the other team has an Iwa shinobi on it, he wouldn't want to do anything to bad to some one related to the_ _Tsuchikage._

Tenten watched in dismay as the other team took the egg they had found on the Genbu. _Damn! Supposedly there's only 5 of those, and we took_ _the last one from the hiding place, if we don't show up with one there is no way we will pass._ Her dismay turned to anger as she heard the conversation between the two Iwa genin.

 _This jackass doesn't seem to realize that no means no, and doesn't he realize there is no such thing as the friend zone? A girl can't_ _consciously demote someone from possible romantic interest to friend if she never had romantic feelings for a creep like him in the first place, and what's wrong_ _with just being friends with someone of the opposite gender?_ Having broken free from the restraints Tenten rushed forward to help her fellow kunoichi, and mid stride watched in horror as the young Iwa shinobi pulled out a Kunai and flung it at Kurotsuchi. With out thinking she slightly changed her course.

- _Present-_

 _Well, this is where I die I guess. Sorry gramps, looks like I won't be able to force you into retirement_ thought Kurotsuchi as her brief life flashed before her eyes. All of a sudden a white blur flashed before her, intercepting the Kunai. "Oh thank god" exclaimed the young man who had thrown the kunai. "Tsuchikage- sama would have had my head if I killed his granddaughter, but he'll probably promote me on the spot when he hears I killed some Konoha scum."

"Tenten!" screamed Kurotsuchi as recognition dawned on her face. As the other team fled the tunnel with their prize in hand Kurotsuchi summoned all of her strength to break through the purple chakra restraining her and dashed to Tenten's side. The Kunai had embedded itself in Tenten's chest, and her once white shirt was quickly turning blood red. Kurotsuchi had some medical skills, but she was no medic-nin. She was able to quickly analyze what happened, but she wasn't quite sure if she could save her teammate. _The Kunai just missed her heart, that's the only reason she's still alive. The wound itself isn't fatal, it's blood loss that will_ _kill her. I need to stop the bleeding quickly._

"Kurot...suchi...I'm...glad...you're...ok." Tenten said weakly, struggling to speak. "Konoha-baka what were you thinking?" "Gai...Sensei...and...Kaka..shi...sensei. They say...those who...abandon their com...rades...are worse than...trash. I'd rather...be a piece of...Konoha trash than...something worse than...trash." Tenten tried to smile after using one of Kurotsuchi's derogatory nicknames for her, but her attempt at humor failed as she ended up coughing up blood instead.

"Shh...trash-chan save your strength." Kurotuschi joked trying to force a smile back to Tenten. "Let me focus on trying to save you." "Th-thank...you." "Baka, we can't advance to the next round if you die on us." Kurotsuchi joked. Her smile quickly dropped and her tone changed to a serious one. "I'm the one who should be thanking you, you saved my life. I owe you big time."

Kurtosuchi fought back tears before quietly continuing. "If-If I can't save you...I'll still owe you. Who should I payback?" "G-gai-sensei...He's an idiot...and r-really...annoying, but...he's the closest thing...I've ever had...to a father." With those words Tenten drifted into unconsciousness, no longer possessing to strength to stay awake. "Konaha-baka! Trash-chan! Come on Tenten stay with me!" screamed Kurotsuchi, frantically working to stop the bleeding and save the life of the person who saved hers.

The chakra in the jutsu holding Naruto in place finally dropped. He had been facing away from the fight and his only clue to what was happening was what he had heard. Turning around he was appalled to see Kurtosuchi frantically working to save a dying Tenten. Though he didn't have any medical skills he raced over to help.

- _The Next Day, 4:30pm. 60 hours down, 12 hours to go-_

"The gates will close in 3 hours. They won't open again until after the exam ends. I think we should stake out the gates. If another team comes by we ambush them and take what we need. If not we get in right before the gates close and try to find a team we can steal from without fighting." said a male voice. _That_ _sounds like Z-san, but the exam ends tomorrow? What happened? Why am I in so much pain?_ As Tenten tried to sit up both Naruto and Kurotsuchi rushed to her side.

"Tenten! You're awake." shouted Naruto. "Tenten, stop moving, we aren't medics, if you re-open those wounds you'll bleed to death." Yelled Kurotsuchi. "Z-san, Kurotsuchi-san. What happened. And what happened to me being trash?" Tenten asked, directing the 2nd question towards Kurotsuchi, who could only wince in shame and embarrassment.

"Tenten you- you saved my life. Some idiot was mad that I wouldn't go on a date with him and threw a Kunai at me. You jumped in the way, you were bleeding out. You almost died. Someone like you...isn't trash, or scum, or anything like that. Even if you are from Konoha. I'm sorry Tenten, I hope we can...we can be friends." "It's fine, Kurotsuchi-chan. I forgive you, I'm just glad that creep didn't kill or rape you." Said Tenten with a weak smile, while the ease with which she forgave made Kurotsuchi feel even more guilty for all the things she had said about the girl.

"Yeah well, thanks Trash-chan. I owe you one" said Kurotsuchi with a smile, though it was obvious to all that 'trash-chan' was a term of endearment, and that Kurotsuchi would never seriously call the girl who saved her life trash ever again. "No, you saved my life to, so we're even." responded Tenten. "No." Kurotsuchi shook her head. "I didn't really do anything, Z-kun is the only reason you are still alive."

"Z-san? I thought he didn't have any medical skills?" "I don't Tenten-chan. I do know some Fuinjutsu though, and I put a seal your arteries to stop the bleeding and restore some blood flow. That being said I'm no seal master, and if you move around to much the seals could break. That's why we want you to be careful until a medic-nin can patch you up."

"Z-kun. May I call you -kun?" Naruto nodded and Tenten continued "It seems I owe you for saving my life Z-kun. Thank you. A true Konoha-kunoichi always repays her debts, if there is anything I can ever do..." "Hahaha, don't get me wrong trash-chan, I'm glad you're ok, but that was ridiculous. Do you know how much money your 'true Konoha kunoichi' Hokage owes to various creditors for her gambling debts?" Tenten frowned at Kurotsuchi for both interrupting, and poking a whole in her statement, and insulting Tenten's idol.

"Anyways..." Tenten gritted her teeth and continued "What's our status, I heard you say we only have a few hours left." "Yeah, you were out for almost a whole day Tenten-chan." Naruto responded. "They stole our egg, but I saw them leave, and they weren't heading back to the village. We've been keeping an eye on the road, planning to intercept them when they come back to get it back." he said. "And no trash-chan, you are in no condition to fight." added Kurotsuchi. "True, but I'm a Ninja-tool and weapons expert remember? I have some great traps we can set for them." said Tenten with a devilish grin.

 _-One Hour Later-_

The team that had ambushed Naruto and co the night before was now racing back towards Kumo from the mountains, they had everything they needed to advance to the next round, and were feeling confident. So confident in fact that as they jumped from Tree to Tree they didn't notice the paper bombs. As the snow kunoichi landed on a tree brach it exploded, sending all three of them flying from the trees and into the ground.

As soon as they hit the ground they heard a call of "Lava Style: Quicklime Jutsu" and found their arms and legs bound to the ground by a cement like substance courtesy of Kurotsuchi's Kekkai Genkai. "Wow Kurotsuchi-chan, that was really cool." said Naruto as he stepped out of the bushes. "And Tenten-chan those paper bombs were really powerful, more powerful than any I've ever seen. How'd you do that?" he asked the girl on his back.

"You're not the only one who dabbles in Fuinjutsu Z-kun, I make them my self so that they are more powerful than the store bought kind." responded Tenten, who then smiled upon seeing the shocked look on their victim's faces.

"So you survived huh Konoha-bitch?" scowled the Iwa genin. "Yes she did, now we'll be taking the egg back before I report you for attempted murder of a fellow Iwa shinobi. I broke my promise to Gramps by using my Kekkai Genkai just now, but it was worth it to take you down" said Kurotsuchi as she retrieved said item from her opponent's scroll, and pulled out a few items that would be located in Kumo as well.

"Now then, let me teach you a lesson about respecting women." Kurotsuchi grinned evilly while pulling out a Kunai. The screams from the Iwa genin could be heard in Kumo, causing confusion amongst the gate guards, and Naruto subconsciously moved his hand toward his groin, as if to check that everything was still there and that Kurotsuchi hadn't done the same things to him.

 _-20 Minutes Later-_

Naruto and his teammates ran through Kumo's gates, with Naruto still shuddering from what Kurotsuchi had done to the other Iwa genin. "Kurotsuchi-chan remind me to never piss you off. I'd like to be able to have kids some day, unlike that guy." said Naruto. "No promises Z-kun." said Kurotsuchi with a playful wink. "Now then, back to business. The only thing we have left on the list as a copy of the newest book in the Make-out series". "I'll handle that, take us to the hotel Konoha is staying at, we need to find Kakashi-sensei" said Tenten from Naruto's back.

10 minutes later Kakashi was reading his precious copy of the newest book in the Make-out series for the 6th time _I wonder when Jiraya-sama is going to finish_ _the next book_ he thought, when his thoughts were interrupted by a call of "Kakashi-sensei!" Looking up Kakashi was surprised to see Tenten on the back of the young Yotsuki boy he had suspicions about.

Her clothes were drenched in blood. "Tenten, what happened?" "I took a kunai to the chest and almost died. Only reason I'm still alive is that Z-kun used Fuinjutsu to temporarily restore my blood-flow. If you could have a medic meet us at the Raikage's tower that'd be great, but in the meantime we need that book."

"Tenten, I'm glad you're alive, and I'll certainly get some medics to look at you, but almost every team with a Konoha genin on it has asked me to let them borrow this for the exam. What makes you think you're any different?" Tenten grinned evilly at Kakashi "Because if you don't I'll tell Gai-sensei that you confessed that you secretly love his rivalry challenges and wish you could do them more often, and that the only thing that prevents you from challenging him is your need to keep a 'hip and cool' appearance."

As Kurotsuchi and Naruto frowned in confusion Kakashi's one visible eye took on a look of absolute horror. "No, anything but that, If he thinks that I'll never get any reading time, just take it. I'll go get you a medic." said Kakashi with a panicked tone of voice as he practically threw the book at Tenten and ran off to flag down a medic-nin or doctor.

Another 10 minutes later Naruto and Co were standing in front of Moroi as he examined the results of the scavenger hunt. "Congratulations Z Yotsuki of Kumo's Yotsuki clan, Tenten of Konoha, and Kurotsuchi of Iwa's Kamizuru clan. You are the final team to pass. That means that the 2nd exam is now over and the next round will begin immediately, please follow me."

-End Chapter-

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Original Commentary:

I tried to get a good mix between light hearted and serious vignettes in this chapter. The short fights were a warm up/practice for the serious fights I will have to do the next chapter(s). Before I start writing said fights I'll be reflecting on what worked and what didn't in this chapter to try to improve my writing. This chapter wasn't perfect, but that being said on a whole I'm fairly proud of it. Hope it was as entertaining to read as it was to write.

To the guest reviewer enquiring about Jiraya: Jiraya's absence during Naruto's childhood is for the same reasons as it was in the show. Some combination of his spy network, grieving over Minato, and being a pervert. He'll be appearing in this story sometime soon, and around the same time you'll find out that I've given Kumo their own spy master, whose duties included ensuring Naruto's location remained a mystery to the Sanin. Also since you're not the first person to mention Hinata I should tease that the next Interlude will include some news on Hinata, along with the remaining members of the Leaf 11. That Interlude will probably come out within a chapter or two of the chunin exam ending.

References from the Previous Chapter:

The Title: "Chunin Exam. Ready? Go!" is a reference to Mobile Fighter G Gundam.

Kumo team 1 is also a reference to G Gundam. The 3 members of the team are named after some of the primary protagonists and antagonists in the series (Domon, Kyoji, and Rain. Their sensei is codenamed "King of Hearts" which is a reference to the character Master Asia, who in G Gundam is known as King of Hearts before passing the title on to his student, Domon.)

Naruto's personal summon, Mimi, is named after the Digimon Adventure/Adventure 02/Adventure Tri character of the same name.

Kurotsuchi mentions that Naruto "knows the importance of being earnest" in reference to the Oscar Wilde play: "The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People".

Updated Commentary: Yeah, No. That Interlude I teased in the original commentary? I was right that it can't be published until after the Chunin Exams are over, but I had a backlog of interludes, and two more were published, so technically I was wrong when I said it would be the next one published. As of my writing this it still hasn't been published. Probably not until mid to late January!

Thanks for reading.  
-Col. Bogey


	12. Chapter 8: Prelims Schmilims

-I don't own Naruto. Naruto was created by Kishimoto, please support the official release. Thanks for reading my first attempt at fan fiction-

 _Italics are thoughts. -Italics inside hyphens are the setting-_

* * *

Moroi led Naruto and Co. down to the basement of the Raikage tower. There they went through a series of tunnels and ended up in an underground dojo. In appearance the dojo looked very similar to the facility Konoha used for preliminary exams. It had a large, open space for fighting, next to an elevated platform for dignitaries to observe the fight. There were also two observation decks for fighters and sensei, with stairs leading down to the arena floor.

Moroi directed Naruto and Kurotsuchi to stand in line, while he helped Tenten over to the side, where she was quickly met by a pair of Kumo medic-nin and Kakashi. Shortly after, the other teams who had passed the exam began to filter in to the arena, and before long they were joined by the Raikage and some of his assistants.

Naruto looked around the room to see who had made it. Omoi and his two teammates were standing near Naruto, and the two friends exchanged a nod of greetings. Ran, Shino, and Hokuto were standing at the front of the line, well rested after having been the first to finish. Naruto was relieved to see that Karui and her team had also made it. Knowing Karui very well, and having been acquainted with Ino, and heard about Sakura he had been worried that the three stubborn, bossy kunoichi would have been too busy arguing to finish the exam. Naruto noticed Domon and his two Konoha teammates Neji and Choji, and gave a slight wave to his friend.

Looking at the platform he saw that the sensei of the remaining participants were standing on the podium with the Raikage, Atsui, Moroi, and a few other dignitaries. Besides his own sensei Killer B Naruto recognized "King of Hearts" who was Domon's sensei, J, who was Ran's sensei, and the two konoha sensei whom he had met, Kakashi Hatake and Asuma Sarutobi. He assumed the lone Iwa jonin was not only Kurotsuchi's sensei, but also the sensei of the Iwa genin on Omoi's team. The jonin from the Star village and Snow village were also present.

"Congratulations on passing the 2nd exam, before moving on to the next round Raikage-sama would like to make a few announcements." said Moroi, who turned to A and bowed.

A cleared his throat before speaking. "Congratulations on passing the 2nd exam. The Chunin Exams serve a variety of purposes for our villages. They act as a substitute for war, and allow the villages to compete for clients in a way that does not risk the destruction of entire villages and the loss of civilian lives. Those of you who advance to the Finals will compete in front of several Kage, Nobles, and even Daimyos. Your matches will also be broadcast live throughout the elemental nations. You'll be competing not just for promotion, but also for your village to get more business."

The Raikage paused to allow his words to sink in before continuing: "Now I have some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that we have too many people here to hold the final exam. We can only have a maximum of 8 participants in the finals, so if not enough of you bow out we will be having a preliminary tournament here and now to determine who can advance.

The good news is that all 15 of you are eligible for promotion regardless of wether or not you participate in the finals. We have had ANBU monitoring all participants and taking detailed reports on your actions. Reports on all participants will be sent back to their village for their Kage or village leader to judge, but only those who make it past the 2nd round can be promoted, and only if your superiors think you have demonstrated the necessary skills and qualities for promotion.

If you are from Konoha this may seem strange, as my understanding is that the Konoha-Suna alliance exams don't have this particular rule, but in our exams it is the norm. " The Raikage motioned towards Tenten: "The medics have already ruled her out, though I understand that the person who injured her will be a soprano for the rest of their life. Would anyone else like to back out?" Seeing no one move the Raikage grinned. "Good, you all have a true warrior's spirit. Darui! You may begin the preliminaries."

A dark skinned, blond man strode forward. He appeared to be in his early to mid 20s. Darui, along with his former teammate C, was the youngest member of A's inner circle of bodyguards and advisors. "Sorry we have to do this everyone, but Boss doesn't want this many of you in the next exam. Here's how this will work. Since we've already ruled Tenten of Konoha out there are 14 of you remaining. We will randomly select opponents and have a series of 7 one-on-one battles. Winners will advance to the next round. If I feel that a match is over I will intervene, but otherwise the match will go until one contestant either surrenders or dies. Please surrender, I'd hate to have to apologize to a bunch of parents and kages for dead genin."

With that Darui motioned towards a video board, which began cycling through the names. When the names finally stoped all of the Konoha shinobi in the room audibly gasped. It was a rematch from the last preliminaries, Ino Yamanaka vs. Sakura Haruno.

"I need everyone except Ino Yamanaka and Sakura Haruno to please head up to the observation decks." "Well Ino-Pig it seems like we've been in this situation before huh?" "Deja Vu forehead. Only this time our preliminary fight won't be a double knock-out, I'm gonna win." "How are you gonna do that Ino-Pig we learned last time that you can't take over my body, and I'm Tsunade-sama's apprentice now, I'm way stronger than I was before."

At this point everyone not from Konoha was staring at the two in confusion. While the Konoha nin in the arena just looked embarrassed. Finally, Darui strode forward and got their attention. "Sorry to interrupt but are you two done talking? The boss looks impatient." Seeing them both nod at them he proceeded. "The 1st preliminary match. Ino Yamanaka of Konoha vs. Sakura Haruno of Konoha. Ready? Go!"

 _Forehead's been learning how to be as strong as Tsunade-Sama, if she hits me I'm toast._

 _Ino's been taking her training more seriously since Sasuke left too. Who knows what Asuma-sensei and her dad have been teaching her? I need to get in close and finish this quickly._

The match quickly settled into a pattern. Sakura was a close range fighter and Ino was long range. Sakura would try to dash in close to finish her off, while Ino would try to scamper out of the way and attack from long range with kunai and shuriken. Any damage either was able to do was minor enough that it could easily be healed, as while Sakura was clearly the better medic-nin, Ino was also decent with medical ninjutsu.

Ino was the first person to try to break the stalemate. "Asuma-sensei, I know you said I shouldn't use this until the finals, but I don't think I can even make it to the finals if I don't." "Go Ahead Ino." called Asuma. "I wasn't asking for permission Sensei, I was just letting you know. Kurenai-sensei told me to do whatever is necessary to make the finals, and she said that if you got in the way I should tell her and she'd take care of it."

Asuma inhaled sharply at the idea of his student complaining about him to his girlfriend. "Forehead, check this out, Asuma-sensei's been helping me develop my nature affinity. It turns out my clan has some pretty strong nature affinity in addition to our mind techniques." Ino quickly began running through hand signs.

Sakura dashed forward to try to get to Ino before she got the jutsu off. Seeing Sakura coming, Ino quickly adjusted and started making different hand-signs. _Ram, Tiger, Snake, Dog, Rat, Ox, Horse, Rabbit, Tiger, Boar, Snake. Heh, let's see you smash through this Forehead._

 _"_ Chaaa" Sakura yelled as she collected chakra in her fist and dashed towards Ino. "Earth Style: Barrier" Ino called out and from the floor below her a mix of rock, stone, and mud formed into a solid barrier in front of Ino. Sakura's fist connected with the barrier, and it cracked, but didn't break. "Ha! Take that Forehead!" cried a triumphant Ino.

"You know Kakashi, our students are finally fighting like real Kunoichi, it's amazing the improvement they've made in the six months since the last time they fought like this" observed Asuma. "I know what you mean, but I don't think I can call Sakura my student anymore, she has hardly ever spoken to me since Sasuke left. I can't say I blame her either, I failed her, just like I fail everyone who trusts me." said Kakashi.

"Kakashi, we've been over this. It's not your fault Sasuke betrayed the village, and it's not your fault that Miyako is dead." said Asuma while exhaling cigarette smoke. "Yeah you've all told me that. Doesn't make my failure to train either of my female students anything besides tree climbing and water walking any less painful to realize." As the two jonin talked Sakura had continued to try to get to Ino, who had continued to use her barrier ninjutsu to hold Sakura back. As both began to exhaust their chakra reserves Sakura decided it was time to make her move.

"Your jutsu is impressive Ino-Pig, but I think it's time I stopped holding back." with those words Sakura removed her weights. "W-weights." stuttered a concerned Ino. "Of course Ino-Pig, how do you think Tsunade-shishou got so strong. It's not just collecting chakra in the extremities to make punches and kicks harder. It's weights, lots of weights."

To make her point Sakura dropped her weights, which left small craters in the arena floor. Sakura dashed forward again, only this time faster. Ino immediately ran through the hand signs for the barrier, and got it up just in time, but to no avail. Sakura smashed through the barrier, and her momentum carried her into Ino, with her fist connecting with Ino's shoulder. The impact caused Ino to fly back several feet, and she crashed into the wall, unconscious. "Ino Yamanaka is unable to continue, the winner is Sakura Haruno!" called Darui.

The two Konoha jonin used Body Flicker to get down to the Arena floor. The medics had left to take Tenten to the hospital for surgery, so seeing that Ino wasn't seriously injured Asuma picked her up and brought her up to the observation deck until a medic came back to look at her. Kakashi made his way to Sakura, who wasn't seriously injured.

"Great Job, Sakura, congrats on making it to the finals. You've really improved since you started studying with Tsunade-sama." "Thanks Kakashi-Sensei." Kakashi's congratulatory 'eye smile' dropped into more of a sad expression for his next few words. "For what it's worth I'm sorry I was such a horrible sensei to you." "Please don't worry about it Kakashi-Sensei, you opened my eyes to just how weak I was. I don't hate you or anything. I understand the council wanted you to focus on Sasuke because of the Sharingan."

Her face shifted from one of joy at winning to one of concern for her teacher. "Tsunade-shishou told me what happened to your old team, and what your life was like between then and Team 7. Please don't go back to that, I'm still here Kakashi-Sensei, you still have a teammate, you still have a student. Weren't you the one who taught me not to abandon my comrades?"

As they finished walking up the stairs there was an awkward silence between them. It was the worst kept secret amongst the jonin that since the Uchiha's defection Kakashi had been going back into his shell, the darkness that had consumed him between Rin's death and Team 7 was returning. Sakura looked over to see medics treating Ino before turning back to her Sensei.

"Tsunade-shishou said that it would be good for me to start learning some of my nature affinity jutsus. Could you help me with that Sensei?" Kakashi looked down at Sakura in awe. _Even after I failed her time and again she still wants me to teach her. She and Gai are all I have left, I can't fail her again. I won't fail anyone again_. Giving her one of his legendary eye-smiles he said: "I'd like that very much, my adorable genin." Meanwhile the video board had landed on two more names. "Will Shino Aburame and Masohiro Kamizuru please report to the floor."

As Shino and the Iwa genin headed to the floor Naruto walked over to Kurotsuchi. "Hey, Kurotsuchi-chan, is that guy your teammate?" "Hey Z-kun, yeah he his. Actually we're technically related. We're both from the Kamizuru clan. Our clan was once unified, and the 1st Tscuchikage was also from the clan. During the 1st Shinobi world war the clan invaded Konoha and was largley wiped out in a battle with the Aburame clan, that Shino guy's clan. After that we split into two groups. One group, which Masohiro-kun is descended from still uses insects and our clan's traditional techniques. Another group, which my grandpa and I are in, broke away. We don't use bees, or any of the old clan techniques, and are a separate clan in all but name. We even live in a separate compound."

As the conversation went on up above, down on the floor the two insect users faced each other. "I was hoping to fight you, Aburame-san. Your ancestors almost destroyed my clan, I am looking forward to avenging that incident today." "If that is your motivation then you will loose. That's because, revenge clouds one's judgement, and in fights like this one must have a clear mind." "Shino Aburame of Konohagakure vs. Masohiro Kamizuru of Iwagakure. Ready? Go!"

The two genin stood still as swarms of insects began to fill the arena. The Aburame clan's chakra eating beetles swarmed around Shino, while the Kamizuru clan's hornets began to swarm around Masohiro. The two swarms flew towards each other, as the insects began to engage in battle. Shino stood still, hands in his pockets, as he cooly surveyed the battlefield. On the other side of the arena his opponent was the exact opposite. He loudly cheered his insects on, and was very animated, moving around a small area.

"Go Shino-Kun! Kick his ass!" yelled Hokuto and Ran in unison, cheering on their team mate from the previous round. "Hokuto-san, Ran-san, your encouragement is appreciated, but unnecessary, that's because I've already made the moves necessary to win." came the response back from the stoic Konoha genin.

Naruto had moved back over to his team after speaking with Kurotsuchi. Upon hearing Shino he looked over to his sensei "Ne, B-sensei, what move did he make? I haven't seen that guy do anything" "I do not know, we must wait for his move to show." responded B.

The battle continued as it had for several minutes, until slowly but surely it became clear that Shino had the advantage, as hornets and wasps began dropping dead. "What's happening?" screamed Masohiro in horror, helpless and unable to do anything as his companions died all around him.

"It seems you have not studied history, that's because, you should know that this is the same thing that happened to your clan when they invaded Konoha." That got the Kamizuru bee keeper's attention. "What?! What did you do?!"

"Once every couple of generations there is an Aburame clan member found to be compatible with a highly poisonous form of beetle, which would kill almost any other human. My adopted brother Torune was one such person, but Danzo-sama forced my father to allow him to take Torune away to join the Foundation. Before he left he gifted me one of his queens. I developed a hive of them, and began attempting to cross breed them with my own beetles. After a few years of trial and error I was able to create a hive of my normal beetles that was not only immune to the poison, but could prevent their host from being poisoned. I then mixed this hive with the hive descended from the queen Torune left for me. The nice thing about insects is that they hatch very quickly. As I walked down for this fight I took some of the eggs from that colony that I brought with me and mixed them in with my current hive. All I had to do was stall for time until I had enough poisonous beetles to take down your wasps, and with how poisonous these particular insects are it doesn't take many."

As Shino explained his trump card the Kamizuru wasps and hornets were dropping all over the field, and Shino began calmly walking over to his opponent. The Kamizuru clan member stood still with a stunned expression on his face, and as the last of his insects dropped dead Shino simply punched him and knocked him unconscious.

"The winner is Shino Aburame. We will take a 5 minute break while the floor is cleared of dead insects" called Darui. Kakashi, as Shino's temporary sensei, made his way over to Shino as the medics and Iwa jonin headed to his unconscious opponent. "I'm not really sure what happened there, but great job Shino." "It was unfortunate that I had to use such a trump card, but it was necessary. That's because Tsunade-sama was insistent that we pack the finals with Konoha genin as a message to the other villages." stated a cool, calm, and collected Shino.

"I don't think I've ever seen a fight that was both so boring and so terrifying at the same time. That Shino guy could kill us all in just a couple minutes with those bugs." stated Karui. "Maybe he's already poisoned us." fired back her conspiratorially inclined team mate. After the arena was cleaned of dead bugs Darui got the video board rolling again, and the assembled genin held their collective breaths, waiting to see who would be the next to fight. When the board stopped it read: "Domon Kasshu vs. Neji Hyuga"

The two teammates from the last round were soon starring at each other from opposite sides of the arena. "I can't tell you how excited I am to fight you, Neji-san." "I too am looking forward to our fight, Domon-san. Though the outcome has already been determined, you are a fine shinobi, and are truly worthy of becoming a chunin, but even so you are no match for the power of the Byakugan."

"Domon Kasshu of Kumogakure vs. Neji Hyuga of Konohagakure. Ready? Go!" The two dropped into the basic stances of their respective styles and Neji activated his Byakugan before the two lunged for each other in a flurry of kicks, punches, and gentle fist strikes. Having been teammates in the last exam they were familiar with the basics of each other's style. Domon knew that blocking Neji's strikes would be no use, as rather than looking for external damage the Gentle Fist style focused on shutting chakra points and damaging internal organs.

Meanwhile Neji knew that the strength of the School of the Undefeated of the East was the speed and aggressiveness with which one attacked, unleashing punches so quickly that it would create after images, making it appear that the fighter was attacking with many arms. He also knew that while Domon's sword was rusty and blunt he was strong enough for it to deal serious damage. Apparently part of the training of the School of the Undefeated of the East was learning to cut through dense objects with dull and rusty blades, making the attacks all the more devastating when they were given a new, sharp katana.

Both fighters took counter measures to avoid the other's strengths. Domon used his sword to block Neji's strikes, preventing his chakra points from being cut off. Neji employed the Hyuga clan's ultimate defense: Eight Trigrams Rotation, to create a protective barrier of chakra which even Domon's blistering speed was unable to penetrate.

On the observation deck Kakashi had his Sharingan out and was studying the fight intently. _I can feel the hatred coming from the two of them. Like Sasuke, these are two fighters motivated by hatred. Neji hates that even though he's the Hyuga's greatest prodigy in generations he is still relegated to the Branch Family. His hatred for Hinata and Hanabi, for their being so weak yet unbranded, while he is so strong and yet cursed with the Caged Bird Seal, is unreal. He has a point, but if he keeps letting his hatred rule his feelings he'll never achieve true power._

Across the room on the other observation deck, Domon's sensei, known by the code name "King of Hearts" the nickname "Undefeated of the East" and the title "Master Asia" was making similar observations. _Domon is letting his hatred consume him. I shouldn't be surprised, Konoha is allied with Suna. Domon's hatred is aimed squarely at Suna, even when Sasori of the Red Sand, who murdered his father in the last war just days after Domon and Kyoji were conceived, was declared a missing nin Domon still found a way to hate Suna. Now he's taking his anger out on this kid since Konoha didn't destroy Suna after Suna and Oto invaded them a few months ago. How many times do I have to tell you Domon? true power comes from love, not hatred._

Much like the previous battles a stalemate had been reached. Domon could not get passed the ultimate defense of the Hyuga clan, while Neji could not break through Domon's Kenjutsu based defense to strike at his chakra points. As the fight dragged on both fighters mentally decided it was time to play their trump cards.

Domon jumped back from Neji and began running through hand signs as his clothing began to turn red. "This hand of mine glows with an awesome power!" "Domon You Idiot, Stop it!" Yelled his sensei _I can't believe how reckless he is, using his best attack before he's even made it to the finals. That Hyuga kid is good, but he has very obvious weaknesses, like a blind spot. Domon is so consumed by his hatred right now that he can't stop and think!_

Ignoring his sensei Domon continued: "Its burning grip tells me to defeat you." With that a sword of lighting materialized in his hands. Taking a few swings to test it out he yelled "Take this, my love, my anger, and all of my sorrow!" _What Love? If you were using that technique with love you'd be glowing gold, not red. Red is hatred, red isn't strong enough,_ thought the King of Hearts. Domon jumped towards Neji, bringing his lighting sword down while yelling "Here I go! Raiton: Shining Finger Sword!"

Neji worked quickly and activated his rotation, which Domon's attack was unable to break through. As the Shining Finger Sword dissipated Neji spoke "Truly a powerful move Domon-san, but you played your trump card a little to early, and I see you left your physical sword on the other side of the arena. You now have nothing to protect your chakra points and are in range for my trump card.

Neji began to rapidly attack while calling out "Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms". He then began to call out the number of Domon's chakra points that he had closed. "Two Palms, Four Palms, Eight Palms, Sixteen Palms, Thirty Two Palms, Sixty Four Palms." As he finished his attack Domon collapsed to the ground unable to move. Darui was quick to call the fight and get the medics to look at both warriors. "Domon Kasshu is unable to battle, the winner is Neji Hyuga!"

Kakashi, as temporary sensei for Neji made his way down to congratulate him. He put on as straight of a face as possible before saying "It truly pains me to say this, but...*sigh* since my eternal-rival isn't here to say it I guess I will have to. That was a most youthful fight Neji, but the way you used your hatred to push you was most un-youthful. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to take my hip and cool attitude back up to the observation deck."

He then laughed. Kakashi Hatake actually laughed. Neji stared at Kakashi, mouth gaping open in shock, and the rest of the Konoha delegation wasn't sure what was the most strange: Kakashi had used "Gai speak" or that Kakashi had actually laughed.

"A moment please, Hatake-san." beckoned Domon's Sensei. "Ah, Asia-sama. What can I do for the King of Hearts today?" "I take it by the way you just spoke to that student that his primary teacher is the notoriously large eye-browed Might Gai." "Yes he is, are you familiar with his teacher." "Gai-san and I have fought on many occasions, and I always enjoy our battles. If he comes to attend the finals please tell him that I would love to spar with him again." "I'll be sure to pass the word along Asia-sama, now if you'll excuse me, we seem to be holding up the next fight." "Will Choji Akimichi of Konohagakure and Argo Kazahana of Yukigakure please come to the floor." called Darui.

Choji and Neji passed each other on the stairs, one going up to rest, and the other down to fight. "Neji, while you were fighting a medic from the Hospital came to talk to Kakashi-sensei and Asuma-sensei. They've got Tenten in surgery. They say it will be touch and go for a while, but they are confident they can save her." "Good, she can't leave me with all by myself with Lee and Gai-sensei, I'd go crazy. Good luck, Akimichi-san, as this is a battle of Elemental Nation versus small village I expect you'll crush him." "This should be an interesting match, Choji has a lot of offensive power, but based on that guy's thick armor he's got some good defense," Asuma noted to no one in particular.

Standing at 6'2 and weighing 250 lbs. Argo Kazahana was large for a 16 year old boy. His light brown hair was neatly tucked behind his Yuki headband. Most of his body was covered in thick Armor. As Darui began the fight Choji used his expansion jutsu, though not to it's full power, just so that he was the same size as his opponent.

Argo meanwhile pulled out a scroll and summoned a block of Ice. Seeing a look of confusion on his opponent's face Argo explained: "While we can't create ice like the Kekkai Genkai of the Yuki clan of Kiri, shinobi of Yukigakure are able to control pre-existing ice using a combination of regular water chakra and regular wind chakra. Allow me to demonstrate."

As Choji went into his Human Boulder technique Argo manipulated the ice block to spread out into a thin layer of ice all over the arena floor, making it so that Choji was unable to control where he went in his human boulder form. He careened off course and slammed into a wall as Argo laughed tauntingly. The fight continued like that for a few minutes, with Choji launching an attack and Argo simply manipulating the ice to cause Choji to lose his footing.

Finally Asuma, growing frustrated at seeing his student struggle yelled "Choji! What would Shikamaru do?" realizing what he may have just set up Asuma quickly added "Besides give up I mean!"

Choji shifted to a defensive stance, clearly focused on dodging and blocking while he thought about Asuma's words. After a minute or so the lightbulb in Choji's head went off. Like Ino, Choji had Earth as his nature affinity, and summoned an earth barrier, which he then quickly smashed to pieces using his expansion jutsu, creating a thin layer of gravel covering the floor.

The gravel gave him enough friction to use his Human Boulder technique without fear of losing control, and he smashed into Argo, knocking him down. From there Choji pushed his expansion jutsu to the largest size he could create, and lay on his back as if watching the clouds...right on top of Argo. Between the weight of Argo's armor and the weight of the now gargantuan Akimichi the Snow shinobi felt his ribs begin to crack, and he quickly surrendered.

"It's time for the next match, will Karui of Kumogakure and Hokuto of Hoshigakure please report to the floor." As Karui headed down the stairs she heard her team calling out to her in support. "Go get her Karui-chan, you can do it!" "Careful about radiation poisoning!" "Yo Karui, after you give her a defeat we'll go to dinner, sensei's treat! Fool! Ya Fool!" _I love my team, they may be a baka, a paranoid man, and the worst rapper ever, but they're mine._

The fight was over relatively quickly. Hokuto was a decent Kunoichi, but it was a bad matchup for her. Her skills lay in using her chakra to restrain others, and Karui's kenjutsu skills were such that she could easily slash through the chakra ropes Hokuto threw at her.

Karui quickly got in close and unleashed a furious barrage of fists before Hokuto fell down unconscious. Naruto, Omoi, and B all cheered loudly upon seeing her win, and as she returned to the observation deck Naruto enveloped her in a massive hug, as Karui returned the hug she heard Darui call "Next Match, Z Yotsuki of Kumo vs. Ran of Kumo." "Alright, thanks for the hug but it sounds like you're up next baka-kun. Ran-chan's a friend too, but you're my teammate so you better win." "Of course Karui-chan. I need to become a chunin before I can even think about becoming Raikage right? It's in the bag, believe it!"

As the two Kumo genin descended the stairs together, ready for their fight there was just a bit of friendly trash talk. "I don't think we've fought since the Academy Z-kun, and as I recall your sword skills were good, but not on my level. I'm looking forward to seeing if you've gotten better." "Don't worry Ran-chan. B-sensei is one of the best swordsman in the world, I've gotten a lot better. Are we keeping this to a kenjutsu spar then? for old times sake?" "Yes, I think that's a great idea Z-kun."

The two genin stared at each other from across the arena, blades drawn. Ran was a kenjutsu specialist, Naruto was a more well rounded, but as a student of Kumo's foremost kenjutsu master he certainly wasn't a slouch when it came to swordplay. In addition his massive chakra reserves and ability to quickly learn new techniques thanks to his shadow clones allowed him to constantly evolve his fighting style. The Kumo-nin in the arena waited for the match with baited breath, their anticipation for the match was along the lines of the Chunin Finals itself.

Even after Darui started the match neither fighter made a move. The tension and excitement in the air was noticeable to all of the non Kumo shinobi in the room, and they were just as enraptured as the home town audience. The stare-down between the two fighter continued for a couple minutes of absolute silence before it was broken.

"Hey, Z-kun. Our village specializes in Kenjutsu yeah? I mean in our class alone You, Karui-chan, Omoi-kun, Domon-kun, Kyoji-kun, Yukai-kun, and I all have some serious skills with a blade. Narui-kun and Rain-chan may not use one often, but they're not half bad either." "What's you're point, Ran-chan?"

"I was real jealous when teams were announced. Here I was, the most reliant on kenjutsu of anyone in our class and I wasn't even put on B-sensei's team? Don't get me wrong, J-sensei is amazing and I love my team, but B-sensei is one of the best swordsmen in the whole world, he was one of my biggest heroes when I was in the academy. I guess my point is I have to beat you, Z-kun, I need to prove that Raikage-sama made a mistake when he put you on B-sensei's team instead of me."

Naruto felt a pang of guilt when he heard her words. She _doesn't know about my tenant, she thinks I'm just some generalist who happens to have some kenjutsu skills, while she's a specialist in B-sensei's area of expertise, no wonder she was upset. I need to talk to her after this whole thing is over, to all of them. Hell those six are all good friends of mine, and they don't even know my real first name. If I make it to the finals I'm at least going to tell them that. I owe it to them, for all that they've done for me_. "Well I guess this is your chance to prove that then, Ran-chan. Bring it on."

With that the two darted towards each other, drawing their blades. The clash of steel against steel rang out through the stadium as the two crossed swords. The battle was a match of two distinct styles. Ran's style was aggressive, she didn't have a lot of strength or stamina, but she more than compensated for it by overwhelming her opponents with speed, and constantly pressed, keeping her opponents on the defensive, waiting for them to make a mistake trying to keep up with her quick strikes.

Naruto's sword style on the other hand was very defensive. Due to the Nine-Tails he healed very quickly and had insane amounts of stamina and chakra, thus B had molded Naruto's kenjutsu style into one designed to keep up a solid defense until his opponent tired out, when he would move in to finish them off.

"I see you've gotten better Z-kun, you wouldn't have lasted this long against me in the academy." taunted Ran, "but I've gotten better too, and I've got a few tricks up my sleeve." she feinted an attack, causing Naruto to move his sword in order to parry, before she pulled back her blade and delivered a kick to Naruto's side.

"Your punches and kicks never used to hurt that much, Ran-chan. Have you been training with weights?" Ran sought to press her advantage and unleashed a flurry of quick blows with her sword and feet. Naruto responded by becoming more mobile himself, and soon the two were dancing around the arena, the sound of clashing blades now occasionally interrupted by the sound of hard kicks.

The battle continued this way for a few minutes before Ran again took things up a level. As she ran her chakra through her sword it began to cackle as lightning sparked around the blade. Again she rushed at Naruto, this time infusing lighting chakra into her legs and feet as well, making her faster.

This new attack was slowly beginning to wear down Naruto's defense, as he was unable to keep up with his opponent's blistering speed. She even managed to score a few slight hits, as evidenced by the small trickles of blood now running down Naruto's arms and legs. Naruto had to keep his entire focus on Ran, and he was so busy focusing on dodging or blocking her strikes that it seemed that she would be sure to win.

She quickly and skillfully backed Naruto into a corner before faking a strike towards his neck, as he raised his blade to block she quickly changed the angle and direction of the blade, using the blunt end to deliver a hard strike to Naruto's hands, as he screamed in pain he dropped his own weapon, which was quickly kicked out of reach by the kunoichi.

"You put up a good fight Z-kun, but there is no way that a generalist can beat a specialist at their own specialty, now please surrender. You're my friend, and I don't want to hurt you any more than I already have." "I gotta admit, you're really something with that sword, Ran-chan, but this isn't over yet." Before Ran could react Naruto had quickly used the substitution technique, and Ran found her sword's tip pressed against Darui's Adam's Apple, as behind her she heard "Shadow Clone Jutsu" and "Sword Shadow Clone Jutsu". She quickly removed her blade from the proctor's neck and spun around.

Behind her stood six Narutos, each one holding a sword. "You may be better than us one-on-one, Ran-chan, but let's see how you can handle six-on-one." said the six Narutos in unison as they lunged at her. Ran was able to take out two of the shadow clones, but the tables had turned. Ran's style was not meant for prolonged defensive sword play, and she was putting so much effort into the three Narutos attacking her head on that she could do nothing about the clone that snuck behind her and tackled her to the ground. It took her a second to process what had happened, and then she realized that she was now the one with a blade at her throat. "Proctor, I forfeit." "Winner: Z-Yotsuki!"

Naruto helped Ran up, and congratulated her on a good fight, before running up the observation deck and celebrating with his teammates. "Guys I did it!" "We saw baka-kun, great job!" "Yo, you gotta know, this shinobi that you see, trained by the rapper Killer-B, was always going to defeat his enemy!"

The only remaining fight was Omoi vs. Kurotsuchi, and it was a let down to the audience after what had just happened. Kurotsuchi was the worst possible opponent for Omoi. His kenjutsu and raiton jutsu were good, but Kurotsuchi was the granddaughter of 1 kage and great-great-granddaughter of another. She had been trained to one day take over the office from birth, and most of her skills were already mid to high chunin level. She also possessed a kekai-genkai, Lava Style ninjutsu. Once she caught Omoi in her quicklime technique she was able to force his surrender with little difficulty.

The shinobi gathered on the arena floor as A addressed them again. "Congratulations to those of you who have advanced. You will fight in a tournament in Kumogakure's stadium one month from today. I suggest you use this time to return home and train hard. Those of you who didn't make it should still take pride in how far you made it, and remember video footage of you fight today, as well as detailed reports of your performance in the first two exams will be sent to your Kage or village leader, so you still may be promoted, if not there is always next time. Those of you who advanced I will see you in one month, you're dismissed."

-End of Chapter-

* * *

Original Commentary:

Before some of you complain about the fact that I alluded to the use of Television and recording technology I would point out that Anko uses CCTV to monitor parts of the chunin exams in Part 1, and that the various Daimyo have a video conference in Part 2, so there is a precedent for it in the show.

Also yes Hizashi is still alive, since Kumo never tried to kidnap Hinata the Hyuga incident never happened. So I had to come up with another reason for Neji to hate the main family.

A quick note regarding layout and formatting. It seems I'm unable to please everyone. Some people in PMs and at least 1 review mentioned that long paragraphs are too difficult to read and asked for it to be broken up. Others have mentioned that they think 2-3 sentences before a break is too short and makes it too choppy. I've also experimented with each a space in between each line and personally I don't like that style. If you have a problem with the layout/formatting I apologize, but keep in mind that others have likely expressed displeasure with my other options as well. I've tried to find a compromise where some paragraphs are longer while others are shorter, but it's not perfect.

References/Easter Eggs from Ch. 7:

For once the Title is not a reference

Argo (Omoi's Yuki teammate) is named after Argo Gulsky from G Gundam, though other than the fact that he is a large brown haired man the similarities end there.

Omoi, being a conspiracy theorist, wonders if his teammates are Crab People, which are from South Park.

Choji mentions Dinner and Supper, before later mentioning 2nd Breakfast, Elevenses, and other meals eaten by Hobbits in J.R.R. Tolkein's middle earth books (Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, The Silmarillion, etc.) I believe these meals are themselves based on Victorian upper-class British culture, but I may be wrong about that.

The attack Domon uses is part of the fighting style of the "School of the Undefeated of the East" from G Gundam, but I can't remember the name of the attack, so i just described it instead.

On an unrelated note: I received an inquiry about the inspirations for the story, so I went back and looked for the stories about Naruto being raised in Suna and Kiri that inspired me to write this one. I couldn't find the Suna one, so I'll keep looking, but this story was partially inspired by "The Yellow Flash of Kiri" by Narutofan401. You can find it in my favorites if you haven't read it. Anyone know of a good Naruto raised in Iwa story? That would be interesting.

So what comes next? Well in the main story will push on to the finals. There may be a short chapter about the month before the finals, or I may break the finals into multiple chapters with the 1st one including what happens in the month in between, not sure yet. I also have a couple of interludes that are nearly done, and I may put in one of those before the finals. I have a somewhat dark and disturbing Sasuke-Orochimaru interlude that solves one of the plot holes I noticed in the show regarding those two characters, and I have one that takes place in Konoha, but that one won't be until after the Finals because it includes revealing which Konoha characters get promoted as a result of the exams. So you can expect either the a short chapter on the month before the finals, a longer chapter with said month and the start of the finals themselves, or the Sasuke-Orochimaru Interlude to come next. After the Finals there may be 1 or 2 more main story chapters before the Konoha Interlude. I'm also working on a Suna Interlude, but that's not done yet, it will be a follow up to first interlude, which was published a few weeks ago. I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to keep up this 1 chapter or interlude per week publishing schedule, but I'll do my best to keep it.

Post Update Commentary: Clearly the weekly update schedule was a bad idea based on all the grammatical errors I keep finding as I go back through these.

Thanks for reading.

-Col. Bogey


	13. Chapter 9: Prelude To A Tournament

Two chapters are getting uploaded today! So be on the look out for Chapter 10 in addition to this one. 10 is a few thousand words longer than this one is!

-I don't own Naruto. Naruto was created by Kishimoto, please support the official release. Thanks for reading my first attempt at fan fiction-

 _Italics are thoughts. -Italics inside hyphens are the setting-_

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 _-The Next Day, The Raikage's Office-_

The 9 Kumo nins of teams 1, 2, and 5, collectively known as "Cloud 9", and their sensei were standing before the Raikage. "Z, Karui, excellent work making it to the finals. I'm disappointed in the rest of you though. I was hoping to have a majority of the finalists be from the host village. That being said I believe a couple of you may have shown enough to be promoted, though that will have to wait until after the finals. For now I'd like for Team 2 to stick around to discuss their training for the next month, but the rest of you are dismissed."

"Raikage-oji-sama...before they go can I tell them?" A looked curiously at Naruto. "What's brought this on Z?" "It was something Ran-chan said in our match up. I realized that teams 1 and 5 are good friends of mine, but they don't really know anything about me."

A thought for a moment, stroking his beard, before he answered. "Hmn. Well I won't let you tell them either of the S rank secrets about you, but if you wish to tell them the A-rank I suppose that'd be fine. Just so long as they remember that it is still a secret of the village and they can't discuss it with anyone outside this room and the Yotsuki Clan." _I'm placing an awful lot of trust in you, Naruto, I hope you know what you're doing._ "What's this about Z-kun?" asked Ran, she and the other members of teams 1 and 5 were extremely curious about what was going on. "call me Naruto, my name is Naruto, Naruto Yotsuki."

- _A Few Days Later, The Hokage's Office-_

"First of all I've received a report from Kakashi, Tenten is expected to make a full recovery. She's going to be in Kumo's hospital for another couple days, and then Kakashi will bring her here for Shizune and I to check out." stated Tsunade Senju, the 5th Hokage. In front of her stood teams 8, 9, 10, and Sakura Haruno, but minus Tenten, still in the hospital in Kumo under Kakashi's watch.

"Overall I'm pleased that 4 of the 7 finalists are our own. Shino, Sakura, Choji, Neji, I know you'll do us proud. This will send an excellent message to the other villages that Konoha remains a power player. Now Asuma, please continue with your report."

"Yes Tsunade-sama, we don't know much about our the other three finalists, but I'll go over what we do know. Kurotsuchi is the granddaughter of the Tsuchikage and has the Lava Style Kekai Genkai, Tenten was on her team for the 2nd round so she will be able to give us more information when she returns. Tenten was also on the same team as Z Yotsuki. He seems to have some skill with kenjutsu, and knows the shadow clone jutsu. According to the Kumo medics he used some sort of Fuinjutsu technique to temporarily stop Tenten's bleeding, and likely saved her life, thus we can assume he is at least somewhat proficient in sealing techniques.

Z is obviously a code name, but the Yotsuki are one of the largest clans in Kumo, not that it means much since Kumo has so few clans. Apparently Z-san is the nephew of the clan head. The Yotsuki clan are known for being able to hear chakra and use Aural based genjutsu, however at no time did I see the boy use any such techniques. He is a student of Killer-B, the Raikage's brother and bodyguard, widely believed to be one of the best swordsmen in the ninja world, and the jinchuuriki of the 8 tails.

Karui is also a student of Killer-B, and uses Kenjutsu and Raiton techniques, pretty standard for Kumo genin. From what I saw all three of them are chunin level already, and I fully expect all of them to be promoted."

Tsunade nodded, pleased with the information. "Alright, thank you Asuma, anything else to report?" "Yes, Kakashi asked me to pass along that Kumo's famed taijutsu master Master Asia spoke to him and said he was most anxious to have another spar with Gai."

Gai's eyebrows perked up. "Yosh! I always enjoy sparring with Asia-sama, he is a most youthful shinobi despite his advanced age. I will absolutely accept his challenge to prove my own youthfulness!" shouted Gai.

Tsunade put a halt on Gai's...exuberance before it became to excessive. "Alright that's enough Gai. Training assignments for our finalists are as follows. All four of you will spend 3 hours every morning in group sessions with Gai to improve your speed, endurance, and strength. After that you'll spend the rest of the morning with your primary teacher. Sakura will be with me, Shino with Kurenai, Choji with Asuma, and Neji with Gai, but focused on techniques not strength and endurance. After lunch those of you in clans will train with the head of your clan in your clan techniques, I've already cleared that with them. Sakura for now you will spend your afternoons with Shizune, when Kakashi returns you will train with him to begin working on your elemental ninjutsu. You're all dismissed."

Most of the shinobi left, but Asuma stayed. "Something more, Asuma?" "Yes, Tsunade-sama. Regarding the Yotsuki boy, Kakashi and I both thought there was something strange about him, but we couldn't quite put our fingers on it for a while, slowly though we began to put it together. His eyes aren't the right color, and his hair is too short, but we realized he bears a striking resemblance to Namikaze-sama. Also, he was able to create 5 shadow clones without being winded, as a genin."

Tsunade immediatly understood what was being implied, and was a little bit insulted. "You expect me to believe that Kumo kidnapped Naruto just based on circumstantial evidence of a boy who looks kind of like the 4th Hokage and has a larger than average chakra reserve for one his age?" "No, Tsunade-sama, but we think that he warrants close observation. We'd like to have you and Jiraya-sama pay close attention to his fight, and perhaps have both Kakashi and Hiashi-sama study him with their dojutsu during the fight as well."

Tsunade thought for a minute. "Very well, I'll allow it, but I'm not sure why you're getting so worked up, your evidence is extremely circumstantial." "We're just being cautious, thank you, Tsunade-sama."

As Asuma left the room Tsunade called out "Get me Jiraya" and an ANBU left to summon the Toad Sage. A few minutes later Jiraya stepped into Tsunade's office. "What's so important that you interrupted my research, Tsunade-Hime? I know you want me in the village during the exams, but I thought you said I was free until we left for Kumo."

Tsunade had very little patience at the moment, and cracked her fist in a telling manner. "I want you to have your spy network get all the information they can on Z Yotsuki." "You want me to spy on one of the finalists? Is that really worth burning my one spy in Kumo?" "What do you mean burn your one spy in Kumo?" "I only have one sleeper agent in Kumo, and if I activate them we may get the information you want, but she'll also be caught and we'll loose her. Spymasters all have their specialities, and Dodai-san, Kumo's spymaster, specializes in counter-surveillance, it's nearly impossible to get a spy into Kumo. You sure you don't want me to save my one for something bigger?"

Tsunade rubbed her head in frustration. "You're right, Asuma and Kakashi's evidence is very circumstantial, and probably nothing, not worth burning your one asset. We'll just watch him closely during the finals." Tsunade's tone suddenly turned dark and menacing: "And don't think I missed your comment about doing research, pervert, this is for spying on the hot springs." With that Tsunade hit Jiraya with a powerful punch that sent him through the wall of her office and into the Hokage Mountain.

-One Day _Before The Final-_

Kumogakure's hotels were filling up rapidly. Nobles, Daimyos, Kages, and Shinobi from across the continent were arriving in town every day for the final exam. At the stadium a broadcast team was setting up lights, cameras, and microphones all around the stadium to capture the event and broadcast it live to the rest of the ninja world.

All that mattered very little to Tsunade as she strode through the streets of Kumo dressed in her Hokage garb and flanked by her advisor and Spymaster Jiraya, and her bodyguard for the day, Kakashi Hatake. The three made their way to the Raikage Tower, where after a brief wait they were shown into the Raikage's Office. "Raikage-Dono, thank you for meeting with me." "Of course Hokage-dono, I trust your accommodations are to your liking?" "They are fine. I thought we agreed to have one bodyguard and one advisor each for this meeting, Raikage-dono, where are yours?" "They'll be here any second."

Within minutes two men entered the room. One was young, in his twenties, and blonde, his companion appeared to be around the same age as Jiraya, with an eyepatch over his left eye, and a hat that appeared to be similar to a chef's hat. Jiraya greeted the older of the two men: "Dodai-san! Always a pleasure to see a fellow spymaster,"

"It is good to see you as well, Jiraya-san. Though we all work for different villages there has always been a sense of camaraderie and fraternity amongst the great spymasters of the world. Welcome to Kumogakure." "Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, what can I do for you, Hokage-dono?" asked A.

"Raikage-dono, as you know our two villages are the strongest in the shinobi world. Not to say that there aren't strong individual shinobi in the other villages, but in terms of overall strength none of the others can hope to compete with either of us." "While I agree that our two are the most powerful I don't know if you can really compare our two villages, after all your village has had several tragedies since the last war ended, forcing you to rebuild each time. You also lost your Bijuu, on the other hand Kumo has been able to recover in peace these past years, and we still have both of ours." "You shouldn't underestimate Konoha, Raikage-dono. After all, even if what you say is true our alliance is far more solid than yours, Iwa will betray you some day."

"It's true that Iwa will betray us, but that won't happen until after Konoha is destroyed. They know that if they want to get their revenge on you they will need us. Furthermore given that negotiations with Suna are on going I wouldn't call your alliance 'solid'." "Either way, it would be a shame for the two most powerful villages to have to go to war, it would be costly to both of us."

"I agree with you there, Hokage-dono, however any sort of non-agression pact or alliance between us will enrage Iwa." "I'm not proposing an alliance just yet, Raikage-dono. All I propose is that we actively cooperate on a few issues, build good relations between our villages." "What sort of cooperation did you have in mind?" "There's a reason I asked that both of our spymasters be present for this. I propose we start by sharing information, and possibly take cooperative action against The Akatsuki, and also against Orochimaru. I think we call both agree both the Akatsuki and Otokagure are thorns in both of our sides." "Interesting, let's talk."

 _-With Team 2-_

It was the day before the finals, and Killer B was treating his genin to Ramen, or rather, to one bowl each. If he paid for the entire meal Naruto and Karui would bankrupt him in a single meal. Both Naruto and Karui had worked incredibly hard in training the last month, and Omoi, not wanting to fall behind, had worked hard as well.

Naruto had trained with his father, uncle, and cousin. With his cousin he worked on chakra control all morning, then in the afternoons his father and uncle would work with him yet again to try to learn the clan's secret genjutsu techniques. Eventually they realized that the problem wasn't that Naruto couldn't do genjutsu, it was that he could not use a small enough amount of chakra to make it effective. From then on their training shifted as they tried to revise the Yotsuki Aural Genjutsu techniques so that they would use more chakra, allowing Naruto to complete them.

B, along with Samui, had worked with Karui on her kenjutsu and lighting techniques. She sparred regularly with Omoi, and also worked with Team 1, hoping to improve her Taijutsu, strength, and stamina. Both Naruto and Karui had improved considerably and were feeling confident going into the finals of the Chunin Exam.

The relationship between Team 2 and the other members of "Cloud 9" had improved as well, as being entrusted with Naruto's first name had bonded the other teams to Team 2. Over lunch Naruto and Karui were discussing their possible opponents. They had just finished discussing the Kurotsuchi, in which Naruto did most of the talking since he had been on her team in the 2nd exam. Now their attention turned to one of their other possible opponents.

"Hey Karui-chan, you were on the same team as that Haruno girl in the 2nd round right? In the prelims she showed super strength, and medical ninjutsu. Anything else I should know about her?" "Who, Pinky-chan? She's stubborn as hell. She almost beat up our other teammate just because our other teammate called the boy she likes a traitor!" "She likes a traitor, what?" asked a curious Omoi. "Yeah I guess her crush is a missing-nin who betrayed the leaf, she is visibly effected just by hearing his name." "So you would say he is her weakness?" "Yes I would, why does that matter baka-kun?" "Oh, nothing, what's his name?" "He's an Uchiha, Sauce-something." "Hey B-sensei, can I see your bingo book?"

Naruto browsed through B's bingo book until he came to the entry on Sasuke Uchiha, memorizing the rogue ninja's appearance Naruto began to devise a plan. _Oh yes, I can totally use this to my advantage. If we have to fight you're going down, Haruno-san,_ thought Naruto as a maniacal grin spread across his face.

-End of Chapter-

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Compared to the last couple chapters this one was pretty short. It's really just designed to set the stage for what will happen in the next few chapters.

While I was writing this chapter I hit the 50 story followers mark! Thanks to all of you that elected to get updates on this story. I'm also almost to 50 favorites of this story, thanks to everyone who reads it.

To the guest reviewer wondering why Kakashi doesn't acknowledge that he failed Minato and Kushina: He does in Chapter 4. In the chapter you left your review on he also states : "just like everyone else" referencing Minato, Kushina, Obito, Rin, Naruto, and etc. As for why Asuma and Kakashi aren't discussing Naruto: They are in another village, and much like the show Konoha's official version of events is that Minato killed the Fox and that Naruto was just some random war orphan. This is mentioned in the first prelude of this story. Of course two Konoha jonin aren't going to go discussing S-class secrets in another village, especially a village they aren't allied with!

References from the Previous Chapter:

Nothing new, Lots of Domon's stuff is based off of G Gundam, but again, that's not new.

Thanks for reading,

-Col. Bogey


	14. Chapter 10: Chunin Exam Finals Part 1

-I don't own Naruto. Naruto was created by Kishimoto, please support the official release. Thanks for reading my first attempt at fan fiction-

 _Italics are thoughts, or information on the setting. It should be fairly obvious which is which_

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On the outskirts of Kumogakure there was a large stadium, the site for the Chunin Exam Finals when Kumo hosted. Each of the 5 Elemental Nation Hidden Villages had their own stadium, as they were the only shinobi villages with the population and infrastructure to host such a large event. In many ways Kumo's stadium was similar to the other 4.

One of the main differences was that, while in many villages, such as Konoha, the assembled Kage sat at the top of the stadium, Kumo's stadium had suites built into the stadium in which Kage, Nobles, Daimyo's, and other VIPs would sit. Inside the Kage suite sat A, Tsunade, and Onoiki, the Tsuchikage.

Standing beside the Kage were one attendant and one bodyguard each. For A these were once again C and Dodai, while Tsunade was attended by Jiraya, and guarded by a member of Konoha's ANBU. Not trusting Tsunade, Onoiki had opted for two members of Iwa's ANBU. The atmosphere in the box was tense, as Onoiki refused to speak to Tsunade. Iwa's hatred of Konoha ran deep, and the diminutive, elderly Tsuchikage was one of the most hateful men in his village.

In a nearby suite the rest of the Konoha delegation was just settling in. The remaining members of the Leaf 10 and their sensei were all present, excluding Shikamaru, whose work as part of the delegation working to repair Konoha and Suna's relationship made it impossible for him to attend the finals. Also present were the families of the Konoha shinobi who had made it into the finals, most notably the heads of three of Konoha's clans, Shibi Aburame, Choza Akimichi, and Hiashi Hyuga.

While most people in the suite were excited to cheer on their comrades Kakashi, Asuma, and Hiashi were all a bit more somber. At Asuma's request Hiashi had been asked to use his Byakugan to study the Yotsuki finalist, adding to Kakashi's Sharingan, though the Hyuga Clan head was not aware of why the request had been made of him.

The Yotsuki clan had also purchased a suite for the finals, and in addition to many of the higher ranking members within the clan the members of Cloud 9 who weren't participating along with their Sensei were invited to join them.

The Clan had set up a number of privacy seals within the suite, allowing those within to cheer Naruto on to their heart's content without having to worry about revealing the secret of his identity to those in nearby suites and seats. The mood in this booth was completely joyful. Everyone was excited to cheer Naruto and Karui on in their quest to bring glory to their village.

The seats in the arena were packed full. The Capacity of the arena was about 40,000 people, and there wasn't an empty seat in the house. The vast majority of the spectators were civilians and shinobi from Kumo and the Land of Lightning, giving Naruto and Karui a home team advantage, that being said pockets of Iwa and Konoha supporters could be found throughout the stadium. The atmosphere was electric, and Kumo stood to make a fortune between ticket sales, concessions, and betting in the stadium's in-house bookies.

Several meters below the spectators, on the arena floor, there was a section of the wall which was see-through. On the other side of the wall was the finalist's waiting area. In addition to the view of the arena the waiting area contained lockers, restrooms, showers, seats, massage tables, vending machines, and anything else a contestant could possibly need while waiting for their next fight.

It was undoubtedly the most luxurious contestant waiting area amongst the 5 nations. The Konoha shinobi were amazed at how nice the waiting area was compared to their own. Within the short tunnel connecting the waiting area to the arena Darui had the 7 finalists line up. The contestants were ready to go, all that remained was for the Raikage to kick off the event and the finalists would be introduced.

Darui took advantage of the brief down time to explain the rules: "Because there are 7 of you one of you will end up with a bye to the Semi-Finals. There will be three 1st round matches, 2 semi final matches, and 1 final match. Each match other than the final will be randomly determined. After each match up is announced there will be a 15 minute wait so that the audience can place bets. The rules are the same as the preliminaries. Each match goes until one of you either forfeits or dies. I can also interfere if I think the match is over. Remember that winning or losing doesn't guarantee or rule out promotion to Chunin. All of that will be based on the skill that you show. Show the judges that you not only have the skill set of a chunin, but the mental capacity of one, and you could lose your first match and still wind up being promoted. In a few moments Raikage-sama will welcome everyone and then I'll introduce each of you. When your name is called head out and stand in a line in front of me. You can be flashy if you want, part of this whole thing is just entertainment for the nobles, but you don't have to. Keep in mind that if you are too flashy it could impact the judges' decision on if you have what it takes to be a chunin."

Just then a booming voice called out: "Ladies and Gentlemen, I, A, the 4th Raikage welcome you to the finals of these Chunin Exams. 7 brave shinobi from 3 villages have made it to this round, and we hope to see some incredible fights. Before we meet the competitors let me introduce the proctor. One of my top assistants despite the fact that he's only in his 20s. Please welcome Darui."

Darui headed out to the arena, where he too greeted the crowd and explained the rules and format before proceeding to introduce the 7 finalists. "Our first finalist hails from Konoha, and is the heir of the Akimichi Clan, please welcome Choji Akimichi!" Choji headed out to polite applause from the largely Kumo audience, loud cheers from the konoha fans, and silence from the Iwa fans.

"Next, also from Konoha, the heir of the Aburame clan, Shino Aburame." Shino headed out and received the same reception. Sakura and Neji received the same reception from the audience as well. The applause for Kurotsuchi was noticeably louder, Kumo was allied with Iwa after all. Finally it was time to introduce the hometown favorites. It turned out that Darui had an excellent stadium announcer voice, and for the home town shinobi he put it to good use.

"Next up is a killer Kumo Kunoichi, a student of B-sama, please welcome Kkkkkkkaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrruuuuuuuiiiiiiiii!" The crowd roared as Karui ran out and waved to the crowd. "And our last contestant, from the Yotsuki Clan, another one of B-sama's students, it's Z Yooooooooooooooooot suuuuuuuuuuuuuukiiiiiiiiii!" Again the crowd erupted in cheers, the loudest of which were coming from the Yotsuki Clan suite, though no one could hear them due to the privacy seals. Naruto smiled and offered a polite bow to the audience, trying to keep a relatively low profile with so many Konoha and Iwa nin in attendance.

"Now, let's see who will fight first!" stated Darui as the arena's video board began to shuffle through the 7 competitors. The tension in the stadium noticably grew as everyone waited with baited breath to see who would fight first. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity to the competitors, the names began to slow down before landing on two names: Shino Aburame and Neji Hyuga.

In the kage box Tsunade swore "Damnit! I was hoping for an all Konoha semi-finals!" "Careful who you bet on, Tsunade-Hime, knowing your luck who ever you bet against will win." Tsunade glared at Jiraya before pulling out a betting slip and filling it out. She gave it, along with some money, to the bookie who was assigned exclusively to the Kage box.

"This will be a very interesting match, Aburame heir vs. Hyuga genius, I'm interested to see just how strong this new Konoha generation is, eh Tsuchikage-dono?" asked A. Onoiki just snarled in response, his blatant hatred of Konoha showing through in his disgust at having to sit through this match.

The two competitors moved to face each other and Neji somewhat somberly addressed his opponent. "You are a fine shinobi, Aburame-san, worthy of becoming a chunin, it's unfortunate that your exams end here, but it seems fate has other plans for you."

"I would not be so confident of your victory, Hyuga-san, that's because, I've a Hyuga as a teammate, and I know how to fight one." "Hmph! Don't you dare call that weakling a Hyuga, I should have killed her in the last Chunin Exam, it would have been doing my clan a favor."

"I would be careful of you choice of words, Hyuga-san, that's because Hinata is a precious teammate to both Kiba and I, and neither of us have forgiven you for what you did to her last time." "She deserves it, how is it that someone as weak as her is from the main branch, while I, the greatest prodigy in the history of my clan am treated no better than a glorified slave?"

"Sorry to interrupt, but the 15 minutes are up, so without further ado here we go." interrupted Darui "Shino Aburame vs. Neji Hyuga, Go!". As the fight began many people watching it were reflecting on the young Hyuga's words.

 _What a jack-ass. His clan sucks, but that doesn't mean he can just be an jerk about everything_ thought Naruto.

 _His hatred of the main branch is as strong as ever. It's true that my eldest daughter is worthless, but Neji may be more trouble than he's worth._ thought Hiashi

 _My son your hatred of the main branch is justified, but Hinata-sama is the one member of the main branch who shows us kindness, don't let your hatred of the Main Family cloud your judgement of her,_ though Neji's father Hizashi.

"Gai Sensei, Neji-kun is a most youthful shinobi, but his words just now were the pinnacle of un-youthfulness were they not?" asked a curious Rock Lee. "Indeed that is so my most youthful pupil." stated Might Gai "I am most concerned about young Neji, I heard his fight in the preliminaries had most un-youthful motivations as well."

"That is it then, I shall challenge my eternal rival and beat him, showing him the Power Of Youth! If I am unable to beat him I will ask Sakura-chan on a date 100 times a day, for each time she rejects me I shall run 1000 laps around Konoha with my feet tied together!"

"Oh Lee!" "Gai-Sensei!" "Lee" "Gai-Sensei" as the two green clad shinobi with endowed eyebrows sobbed and hugged while shouting each other's name Team Gai's other team member acted on her anger at the two and embarrassment at being associated with them. "Shut up you two and watch Neji-kun's fight!" Yelled Tenten as she beat them with a fan that she had summoned.

Meanwhile on the battlefield the action had started, and both combatants were sticking to their clan techniques. Neji was trying to get in close to Shino in order to close off his chakra points using his Gentle Fist Taijutsu and Byakugan, while Shino was using evasive maneuvers and insect clones in order to avoid Neji, snd and swarm of his beetles was attempting to stick to Neji and eat his chakra.

Neji used his clan's rotation technique to prevent the insects from accomplishing their mission, as the high speeds at which he spun around knocked the beetles off of his body, while the chakra he expelled while spinning pushed them away from his body. Shino would use the few seconds it took for Neji to use the technique to put some distance between himself and the Hyuga, and the three way chase between the Aburame, the Hyuga, and the insects would resume.

"It seems that our group sessions with Gai-sensei have helped you quite a bit, Aburame-san. You are much faster than I remember you being, however you must realize you are at a disadvantage here. My rotation technique prevents your bugs from doing their job, nullifying your clan techniques. Your sensei is a genjutsu specialist, but I have the Byakugan, so if you were to fight me with your sensei's techniques they'd only fail."

"Are you so sure my beetles aren't having an effect, Hyuga-san? Their job is to drain my opponent's chakra reserves, either by eating it or by forcing my opponent to expel large amounts of chakra to deal with them. Having Hinata as a teammate I know how much chakra your rotation technique takes, based on how many times you have used it you should have used more than half of your reserves, on the other hand I have hardly used any." _Damn, He's right, I'm using too much chakra dealing with these bugs. I need to get rid of them now._ _Time to reveal my secret weapon_.

- _Flashback No Jutsu-_

Gai and Neji were standing in a training field having an argument. "Gai-sensei I need a secret weapon for the finals, why won't you teach me to open some of the eight gates?"

"I cannot do that my young pupil! Your motivations for fighting are most un-youthful. If I were to teach you to open any of your gates you would use the extra power for un-youthful purposes. Until you have proven you have embraced the springtime of your youth I refuse to teach you that technique." "Fine! then teach me some ninjutsu, you know some don't you?"

"Of course, unlike your youthful teammate Lee I am fully capable of using Ninjutsu and Genjutsu and have an arsenal of both amongst my youthful skills, however as Taijutsu is the most youthful of the ninja arts I have dedicated myself to specializing in Taijutsu. Why would a Hyuga want to use Ninjutsu? I was under the impression that your clan used only the most basic of ninjutsus, like body flicker, and specialized exclusively in your clan techniques when in youthful combat."

 _I can't just tell him I want to learn some to spite the main family, Gai-sensei will know if I'm lying. I have to add something else to convince him. I can't believe I'm going to stoop this low, but I have no choice._ "That rule was established by the main branch. Of course I know the Byakugan and Gentle Fist are superior to all other forms of combat, but I refuse to be a slave to the main family. I will not specialize in ninjutsu, but I want to have a couple of them to pull out in order to *sigh* prove my youthfulness to Hiashi-sama."

Neji's last few words were barely audible, but Gai heard them and embraced his student in a bear hug, while tears poured out of his eyes. "Oh Neji Your youthfulness has moved me! I shall do my best this month to teach you ninjutsu, and if I fail I shall borrow one of my eternal rival's un-youthfull books and read it front to back!" When Gai finished crying he reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. "This paper will show us what your chakra element is, using all of your youth run some of your chakra through it."

- _Flashback no Jutsu Over_ -

Neji ran through a series of hand signs before calling out "Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu!" a fireball shot from the Hyuga's mouth and enveloped Shino's insects. In the Konoha suite Hiashi yelled out in rage "Gai-san What is the meaning of this ?! How dare you allow him to sully the Byakugan by sinking so low as to having to use Ninjutsu. Even the Branch Family is superior to the rest of you pieces of trash that have to use such as disgusting and impure art as ninjutsu. This is a disgrace to the Hyuga Clan, the pinnacle of Humanity! I have half a mind to activate his seal right now and kill him for such a transgression!"

"Please, Hiashi-sama. I'm sure my son has a good reason for sullying the clan name, why not hear him out before deciding anything?" "Silence! First this whelp uses techniques forbidden to the branch family in the last chunin exams, now ninjutsu here, unacceptable!" _I can't believe it. Hizashi is his little brother, yet he treats him as a servant. The Hyuga clan are truly despicable. I need to get Hinata out of there as soon as possible._ thought an enraged Kurenai Yuhi, Team 8's sensei.

On the battle field Neji was grinning. _I did it, I burned his bugs to a crisp, I've won!_ "Surrender, Aburame-san, as I said you are an exemplary shinobi for a non-Hyuga, but this battle is over." "This battle isn't over, Neji-san. That's because you haven't burned all of my beetles, and also because if you think you're the only one to bring a secret weapon to this tournament you are sadly mistaken."

- _Flashback, Shino version_ -

On the first day of the training regimen Tsunade had set out for the 4 Konoha finalists, the same day that Neji had approached Gai about Ninjutsu, Kurenai and Shino were also discussing what Shino should train in.

"Well Shino-kun, you'll be improving your speed and stamina with Gai before breakfast every morning, and working with your father in the afternoons, what should we work on between breakfast and lunch? You already know some of my Genjutsu, would you like to work some more on that?"

"I'm not sure that's the best idea, Kurenai-sensei, that's because thanks to your training Team 8's Genjutsu skills are already almost chunin level. I would argue that for these exams it would be most beneficial for me to add some other skill to my abilities, that's because, if I end up having to fight an opponent like Neji-san I' be a severe disadvantage." "Hm, well that's true, but as a Genjutsu specialist I can only do so much for you when it comes to other areas."

"You can still be a great help, Kurenai-sensei, that's because I believe you know some people who can help train me in what I'm thinking. Also, I would like to improve my ninjutsu and taijutsu, and even if you are a Genjutsu specialist I believe you can still help me in those areas, that's because, they don't let just anyone become a jonin-sensei."

- _End Flashback-_

As the fireball dissipated Neji, along with most of the audience, was shocked. Shino's bugs had been unaffected by the fire! "What is this? everyone knows that Fire and Water are the two biggest weaknesses of the Aburame Clan insect techniques!" Yelled an incredulous Neji.

"I must commend you, Neji-san. I was not expecting you to use Ninjutsu in this match, that's because, you're a Hyuga. However, even your unforeseen use of elemental ninjutsu is not enough to save you from the plan I developed for use in the event of our having to fight, that's because, unless you have suddenly become a toad summoner this plan is full-proof."

Neji fell to his knees and suddenly realized that his chakra reserves were practically empty, much lower than he had assumed they were. "What did you do to me? I'm a Hyuga Genius, I deserve to be main branch, you can't beat me!"

"It was quite simple, Hyuga-san. I simply put all the skills I gained over this past month into one plan." "Neji Hyuga is out of chakra and unable to continue, the winner is Shino Aburame!" announced Darui.

"Neji-san. I'm guessing your clan will be very mad at you, that's because many of your actions today will be viewed as going against your clan's doctrine. I suggest you reconsider your relationship with your cousin. My teammate may be a pariah amongst some of the main branch, but she is much beloved amongst the branch family and still does have a bit of influence in the main family. Despite all that you've done to her she still views you as a pseudo-big brother. I advise you not alienate what could be your last supporter in your clan's main branch."

"Kurenai-sensei? How did Shino beat Neji?" asked a confused Kiba. "Shino-kun may not be Shikamaru, but he's far and away the 2nd best strategist in your class." responded a smiling Kurenai

"He developed a possible plan to use against each of the other finalists, of course since he knew more about the other Konoha finalists those plans are much more detailed and more likely to work. As you know Shino-kun loves Etymology and is always trying to breed new varieties of beetle with new skills. During his clan training each afternoon he had focused on creating a type of beetle that didn't fly, but crawled to their opponent. He unleashed a hive full of them at the very beginning of the match. The next problem was to hide them from the Byakugan. To do so he and I worked on a type of pseudo-Genjutsu. He permeated the arena with a base level of chakra equal to that of one of his beetles, making it so that not even a Byakugan could see them, he had Hinata help him, making sure that he got the level of chakra to expel just right so that it was not possible to tell what he was doing. Some of the beetles burrowed into Neji's sandals and burrowed into his heels, where the callouses most people have made it difficult for Neji to detect anything. Rather than sucking out chakra, these beetles inject their own chakra, inflating their victim's chakra reserves. All Shino had to do was use the extra speed and strenght he got from Gai to avoid Neji until Neji had drained his own natural chakra reserves, then he had his beetles withdraw. Because the beetles had been inflating Neji's chakra he didn't realize he was as low as he was, and when the beetles withdrew all he was left with was his own, nearly empty, reserves." "How did his bugs survive the fireball though?" "Shino asked some of my other jonin friends and I to help him develop an Insect Shadow Clone Jutsu, much like the Shuriken Shadow Clone jutsu usually associated with the Sarutobi clan."

"Oh, so those were clones. I can't believe he actually beat that pompous jackass."

Hiashi Hyuga was absolutely furious. _First he dishonored the main branch in the last exams, learning techniques that are forbidden for the servants to learn, then he dishonors the Byuakugan by resorting to that disgusting ninjutsu, then he fails to beat an Aburame! Granted the Aburame are superior to most of the mindless rabble Konoha calls clans, but they are far beneath even the servant Hyugas. If Hokage-sama hadn't taken some what of a liking to the boy I'd kill him right now!"_

In the Kage Box the Raikage spoke first. "Truly a phenomenal fight. The Hyuga boy showed a master of advanced Hyuga Clan techniques and more skill in elemental ninjutsu than I've ever seen a member of the clan use. The Aburame was also superb. In addition to mastery of his clan techniques and a chunin-level of Genjutsu manipulation he showed jonin level strategic planning, I intend to vote for both of them. Your thoughts, Tsuchikage-dono?"

"Hmn. As you know the only name more despised than Aburame within Iwa's walls is Namikaze, but I must admit the brat is clearly chunin level, as is the Hyuga." "Damnit, I had 20,000 ryo on Neji!" yelled a frustrated Tsunade.

As the medics whisked Neji to the stadium's infirmary and Shino made his way back to the green room Darui motioned for the video board to start scrolling through names again. When the board finally stopped Naruto couldn't help but grin at what he read: 'Z Yotsuki vs. Sakura Haruno".

"You can do it Z-kun! Pinky-chan has nothing on you!" Yelled Karui at the top of her lungs. Naruto, who had yet to leave the waiting room, and was standing next to Karui, covered his ears. "Geez Karui-chan, I'm right here, No need to make me go deaf!"

"Oops just got kinda excited. Go get em, Z-kun." said Karui as she gave Naruto a good luck hug. As she broke the hug she released a bit of killing intent. "Of course you realize if you embarrass Team 2 there will be severe consequences." _Karui-chan can be really scary when she wants to be,_ thought Naruto, who practically ran into the tunnel and out into the arena. The crowd roared when one of the hometown finalists entered the arena, and Naruto acknowledged them with a little wave. After the mandatory 15 minute break Darui called out: "Z Yotsuki vs. Sakura Haruno, ready? Go!"

Almost immediately Sakura used her super strength to punch straight into the arena floor, leaving a medium size crater, as if showing off her strength. Taking the offensive she then charged at Naruto. _It's Ok Naruto, you knew she was strong, just can't get hit by her_. thought Naruto, as he made a few shadow clones, which counter-charged.

Soon Sakura was surrounded by Naruto's shadow clones and a furious Taijutsu battle began. Sakura quickly gained the upper hand, as her strength made it so that she could take out a clone only using one finger. Furthermore, as she was a natural talent with medical ninjutsu she was able to heal whatever minor wounds the Naruto clones caused.

As the last clone dispelled the real Naruto lunged at Sakura, katana drawn and ready. Sakura jumped back to the crater, where she pulled out a scroll and unsealed a large amount of water, turning the scroll into a small lake. She walked out onto the lake and began running through a series of hand signs.

"The very first mission I went on outside of my village we ran across a missing-nin who used this technique. Kakashi-Sensei copied it, and since it turns out I have water affinity he taught it to me. It's only D-Rank, but I think you'll see it's very useful. Water Style: Kirigakure no Jutsu."

- _Flashback-_

"Alright Sakura, it looks like you have a water affinity. It's a very versatile affinity that I think will complement your natural affinity for medical ninjutsu and genjutsu." "But I don't know any Genjutsu, Kakashi-sensei."

"That's true, but I promised I'd never fail you again Sakura, so maybe I'll teach you one or two in addition to some water techniques. Let's get to work."

True to his word Kakashi was a very involved sensei this time around, at times he bordered on doting. Sakura knew he was going above and beyond in part to make up for his past transgressions with her and in part because he simply couldn't emotionally handle losing another teammate, but she wasn't going to complain about the extra attention.

Her mornings were hell. From Gai's ridiculous and extreme work out regiment to Tsunade, who was very strict and often beat the living hell out of Sakura in their spars, only to heal her before dismissing her. Afternoons with Kakashi, who while now far more attentive still retained his laid back style, seemed almost like a vacation to her, a vacation where she got a whole lot stronger. _I need to get stronger, Sasuke-kun, I need to get stronger so I can bring you back home_ was a thought that she had almost every day during the month of training before the finals.

- _End Flashback-_

As a fog bank over took the arena and obscured his vision Naruto stopped charging and switched to a defensive stance. From behind him he heard something, so he turned around and instinctively swung his blade. He was surprised to see that he had beheaded his opponent, and was even more surprised when the body turned into water. _A Water Clone. Karui-chan didn't mention anything about this girl being able to use water style. She told me this girl was just a stubborn girl who used medical ninjutsu and super strength. She must have been holding back in the last exam_.

In the Kage Box Kumo was testing out a new technology, Infrared, to allow the Kage to watch the fight on monitors even though the arena was obscured by mist. _This girl's really good. She could give Naruto a run for his money,_ thought the Raikage before he spoke: "I must say Hokage-dono, this girl is very talented."

"She better be, she's been my apprentice for the last couple of months. There will be hell to pay if she disappoints me." "To be the apprentice to the famed slug princess, such an honor for this girl, I hope she realizes how fortunate she is, eh Raikage-Dono?" stated the Tsuchikage, who still refused to directly speak to Tsunade. "Indeed, To think Hokage-Dono would be willing to take a second apprentice, this girl is lucky indeed."

Back in the fog bank Sakura had moved off of the lake. _I needed the water source for the mist and water clone techniques, but now that he's distracted and can't see me I think I'm going to try something else_. Having snuck up behind Naruto she made the snake hand seal, followed by the ram seal and whispered "Demonic Illusion, Hell Viewing Technique."

Ever since her days in the Konoha Academy Sakura had been told she had talent with Genjutsu, but until the past month no one had bothered to teach her. No Academy teacher knew much about Genjutsu, and "Kakashi 1.0" as she had now taken to calling the Kakshi of the old Team 7 days had ignored her.

Tsunade's teachings were too focused on medical skills and taijutsu for anything else. Only "Kakashi 2.0" had bothered to tell her anything about this field that she was supposedly a natural in, and even then he had only taught her the 1 D-rank technique. That said due to her own personal experience with the technique, it was the one "Kakashi 1.0" had cast on her during the bell test, she new it was extremely effective.

Naruto was cautiously making his way through the fog trying to find Sakura, when he was able to just barely discern the silhouettes of two figures. As he approached them he recognized one from his experiences training with Yugito, and the other from a picture in an Academy textbook.

"Kaa-san? Otou-san? You're dead? What is this?" Standing in front of him were none other than his biological parents, Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki. "Hello Demon." said the 4th Hokage "So you survived huh? My seal was supposed to kill you. Demons like you don't deserve life."

"I guess we'll have to finish the job ourselves, Minato-kun. We brought this monster into the world, we have to take it out." said the red headed Uzumaki as she drew her Katana and the Blonde Hokage pulled out one of his famed trident-esque kunai.

Naruto's mind was working overtime trying to figure out what was going on. _But...Kaa-san, when I met you in my mind you were really happy to see me! You told me you loved me! Why?"_ His body froze as tears welled up in his eyes. Just as his parents were about to deliver the killing blow a new emotion took him, Anger!

From deep within Naruto the Kyuubi's chakra, which Naruto had been suppressing since the end of his Genbu training in order to hide his Jinchuuriki status, began bubbling up. Naruto's eyes turned red and he suddenly had a moment of mental clarity.

 _Genjtusu! Of course_. The Kyuubi's chakra exploded in a massive burst breaking the Genjutsu. Naruto quickly realized what had happened and regained control. _Crap, I got so emotional Kurama's chakra leaked out and broke the Genjutsu! Hopefully the mist hid what happened._

In the Konoha Box all of the Byakugan users present saw the chakra burst. _It seems Hokage-sama was right to have me observe this fight. That boy let out a strange red chakra in order to break the Genjutsu. I know I've seen a chakra like that before, but where? I'm probably still to mad to be thinking straight about this. I'll report it to Hokage-sama after the fight, and once I've calmed down I'll meditate on where I've seen that chakra before_. thought the head of the Hyuga clan. _What w-w-was that? That chakra was so...d-d-dark and angry_. Though his eldest daughter.

Naruto, now free of the Genjutsu, had developed a plan of his own. _First I need to get rid of this fog. That should do the Trick! Tiger, Ox, Dog, Rabbit, Snake._ "Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!" Naruto unleashed a large and powerful gust of wind, clearing the battle field of the mist. He quickly found himself staring at Sakura, who was 10 feet away from him. _Step 1: Locate the girl, complete. Now for step two. Yotsuki Clan Secret Technique: Silver Tongue Genjutsu, Naruto Version_.

- _Flashback, Two weeks ago_ -

"All right Naruto, your uncle and I think we know why you've been having so much trouble with the clan secret techniques." "Isn't it because I don't posses the Kekkai Genkai, Otou-san?" "No my boy, the Kekkai Genkai of hearing chakra certainly makes our aural based genjutsu easier to understand, but just because you lack the Kekkai Genkai doesn't mean you can't learn the techniques."

"It doesn't, then what's the problem Gennai-oji?" "The problem is that like all Genjutsu our techniques don't take very much chakra, and require very fine chakra control. Considering how much chakra you have your control is great, but it's not physically possible for you to produce such a small amount of chakra. The solution is therefore to simply modify the jutsus to make them use more chakra. Let's try this out..."

- _Flashback over-_

 _Yotsuki Clan Secret Technique: Silver Tounge Genjutsu, Naruto Version_. "I must say Haruno-chan, your combination of the mist jutsu and the genjutsu are a potentially lethal combination, but I think this fight is over now." The Silver Tounge Genjutsu was the most basic of the Yotsuki Clan's genjutsu. As Aural based genjutsu they assaulted the brain via the ears, where as most genjutsu, especially in Konoha, home to the famous Sharingan genjutsus, aimed for the opponent's eyes.

Naruto channeled chakra into his tongue, so that the very words he spoke were laced with chakra, which upon reaching Sakura's ears, would begin the assault on her brain. _What the hell is he talking about? I'm winning this fight_ , when a new voice, and for Sakura a very familiar voice, called out "Long time no see, Sakura."

Sakura looked over to where the voice was coming from to see a shirtless Sasuke Uchiha. "You've grown so much stronger Sakura. I need you with me now. You're the only one who can help me revive the Uchiha clan. Please, come with me to Oto, become my wife, and become the mother of the new Uchiha Clan."

"Oh Sasuke-kun, Yes!, Yes! I'd do anything for you Sasuke-kun. I Love you Sasuke-kun, I'll gladly leave Konoha and join Oto if I can be by your side!" Cried a joyous Sakura as she ran over to her beloved. She reached Sasuke and tried to envelop him in a hug.

As she went in for a kiss the image of her beloved disappeared, revealing one of Naruto's shadow clones. She was taken completely by surprise as a fist connected with her forehead. As darkness consumed her she could just barely make out "Winner: Z Yotsuki!" followed by the crowd roaring in approval.

"HOW DARE SHE!" Tsunade slammed her fist down into her chair, completely shattering the chair, and forcing her to make a quick movement so that she didn't fall over. "After all I've done for that girl, not only does she fall for a genjutsu, but she reveals she'd leave Konoha to go serve Orochimaru if that Uchiha bastard asked her!"

The only thing that stopped her rant was the maniacal laughter coming from Onoiki, clearly enjoying Konoha's misfortune and the Hokage's humiliation. It was a good think that Onoiki had the ability to fly, because his chair quickly disintegrated beneath one of Tsunade's fists.

Inside the waiting room Choji, Kurotsuchi, and Karui watched the video board with baited breath, waiting to see who would get the first round bye and who would have to fight. As Naruto re-entered the waiting room the video board landed on the names: Choji Akimichi vs. Karui.

In the Kage Box Onoiki smiled. _So Kurotsuchi has the 1st round bye. Excellent, I know my granddaughter is strong enough to win this tournament. I only hope she gets to embarrass some of those useless Konoha genin in the process_. From the Konoha Box came a loud, shrill scream: "Go Choji! Show Tomato Head the power of Team 10!"

 _So I'm fighting the Akimichi huh? According to the scouting reports we got on him the main thing is that I can't call him fat. Who would though? The Akimichi are a major clan and their techniques are well known, I guess some idiots who don't know how the clan techniques work decided to pick on him and make him self conscious._

Karui stood confidently across from her opponent, waiting for the fight to start. The Cloud 9 had all shared information on the finalists they had worked with or fought throughout the previous exams, and the Akimichi Clan were well known throughout the ninja world, so she was confident that she had a good idea of Choji's abilities. "The final match of the 1st round: Karui vs. Choji Akimichi! Ready? Go!"

Choji started off the match very predictably. He employed his clan's expansion and human boulder techniques to roll around the stadium in an attempt to crush Karui. _Shit, he's faster than I thought he'd be. Who knew big guys could move so quickly!_ thought Karui. _I'm using too much energy to try to dodge him, I need to get on the offensive, now._

Karui knew she had a tight window for her plan to work. When it looked like Choji was about to emerge from the boulder technique she channeled lightning chakra into her feet, drastically increasing her speed, and lunged towards her opponent. She timed it perfectly, and just as Choji emerged from the technique she was on top of him, Katana drawn. What happened next was surprising to just about everybody in the arena. Choji had blocked Karui's Katana with a blade of his own.

- _Flashback no Jutsu, Akimichi Version-_

Choji, Choza, Asuma, and Shikamaru were sitting in a booth at Yakaniku Q. The Akimichi clan head had met the three as they left the Hokage's office after debriefing on the first two rounds and preliminaries of the chunin exam, and had treated his son, and his son's sensei and best friend to lunch. Team 10's other member, Ino, had also been invited, but was forced to decline as she had to work at her family's flower shop.

Choji was ravenously devouring the BBQ meat. His father, while also eating more than his fair share, he was the Akimichi Clan Head after all, was involved in a discussion with Asuma and Shikamaru about Choji's training.

"Sarutobi-Dono, I'm glad you'll stay involved in my son's training over this next month. I'm hoping you'll teach him some new skill or ability that he can use as a secret weapon in the finals."

"I was thinking the same thing, Choza-dono." "Pa, why are you calling Asuma-sensei -dono?" "Because, as you know your sensei is the son of the 3rd Hokage. When Lord 3rd died your sensei became head of the Sarutobi Clan, and as such is a member of the village council, like me." Choji briefly grunted his acknowledgement and understanding before he dug back into the heaps of meat sitting on the grill.

The next day Choji showed up for training to find Asuma joined by Raido Namiashi, whom Choji knew as a former teammate of Asuma's known for his Kenjutsu and assassination skills.

Raido was also famed as a member of the Goei Shotai, the Hokage Guard elite group of non-ANBU shinobi who, along with an ANBU team, were the Hokage's personal bodyguards. Members of the Goei Shotai were also famed for being able to use a modified version of the 4th Hokage's famous teleportation jutsu, the Flying Thunder God Technique, allowing them to work as a team to teleport their charge out of danger.

"Ah, Choji, good. Raido and I are going to work on giving you a secret weapon." "Yeah, Choza-sensei is going to be working with you on using a Bo Staff, since it is something your clan is known for wielding, but we're going to give you a little ace in the hole, some training with blades." "Wait, Raido-san, was Pa your sensei?"

"No, but I was a genin at the same time as Team Choza, and much like you call Kakashi and Kurenai sensei we all called the other team leaders sensei as well. Minato-sensei, Choza-sensei, and a few others. Your father's students were Genma, Ebisu, and Gai." "Gai-sensei is Pa's student?!" "Yeah, hard to believe I know, but it's true."

"Anyways..." said Asuma hoping to get the other two to focus. "Raido will give you some sword training, but I think for the finals it will be better to have something hidden, so while Raido will train you in swords I'll be training you to use some of these." said Asuma, motioning to his trench knives.

 _-End of Flashback-_

Just as Karui had begun to slash at Choji with her Katana Choji had pulled out a trench knife and successfully parried the attack. "Partial Expansion Jutsu!" he yelled, as the arm not holding the trench knife grew to a massive size, and a gigantic fist connected with Karui's stomach, sending her flying across the arena. Choji pulled out a scroll and quickly summoned a staff.

He crossed his arms in front of him in an X position. In one hand he held the trench knife, facing downwards, in the other the bo staff, smaller than normal, ran almost parallel to his arm. _Not good_ thought Karui _Akimichi Bo-staffs are said to grow and shrink in size along with their owner's expansion jutsu, but based on the size of his staff it looks like they can simply grow or shrink at their user's will, regardless of the user's size._

Choji's confidence had grown as the fight progressed, and this time he took the initiative to charge forward at Karui. A fierce battle ensued as Karui used her Katana to fend off the staff and knife. Since Choji had shrunk his staff down to about half of its normal size he was easily able to wield it one handed, and it worked in excellent combination with his staff.

Karui focused on blocking the knife, knowing that while the staff caused incredibly pain it was less likely to cause major injuries, so she was taking a beating from the staff. She was able to dodge some of the hits, but was taking more hits than she would have liked. All of a sudden Karui felt something connect with her jaw that sent her flying to the ground.

Choji had managed to get a clean hit to her face with his staff. _This is not good, I can't lose here._ As Darui looked like he was about to call the fight Karui managed to stand up. _I won't lose here_. "You should give up, I really don't want to hurt you, hurting people isn't fun." said the kind, if still a bit naive, Akimichi. "That's very sweet of you, but I can't loose here." _Naruto and Omoi wouldn't give up, so neither will I. His Sensei is known for using knives like that to channel Wind Chakra, however it appears that this boy is no blade master, he's probably only recently begun learning how to use them. He's good, but I doubt he's learned to fuse chakra into his knife yet. I'm almost out of chakra, so this is a huge risk, but I don't have a choice_.

- _Flashback-_

 _"_ So let me make sure I understand you Samui-sensei. In the mornings I'll train with you and Omoi-kun will train with B-sensei. Then at lunch the 4 of us will discuss my possible opponents and strategies for beating them, then after lunch I'll train with B-Sensei and Omoi-kun will train with you."

"Exactly Karui. In the prelims you showed a good mastery of the first two steps of one of our village's ultimate kenjutsu techniques. You know how to channel lightning chakra in to your feet to make you run faster, and into your blade to make it stronger. I also understand you know the kenjutsu move "Cloud-Style Front Beheading", so all you need is one more step and you'll have one of our ultimate Kenjutsu moves, so that's what we'll be working on."

- _End Flashback-_

Once again Karui channeled lighting chakra into her feet and charged her opponent. Choji held both his staff and knife in front of him, as if to block her strike. At the last possible second Karui channeled her lightning chakra into her blade as expected, but also into her arms, allowing her to swing the blade with more speed and strength than normal.

"Raiton: Cloud Style Front Beheading!" She called as a single slash broke through both Choji's knife and staff. Thankfully for Choji the knife and staff were at least able to weaken the blow enough that the slash he received across his chest wasn't fatal.

"Choji Akimichi is unable to continue, the winner is Karui from Kumogakure!" As the crowd erupted with cheers Karui knelt down and started bandaging the Akimichi's wounds.

"You fought well, Choji-kun. You should have more confidence, once you believe in yourself you'll be unstoppable. "You really think so?" "Of course I do, baka!" "Thanks, Karui-san." As the medics arrived and carted Choji away she called out, "Please, call me Karui-chan!" Above the roar of the crowd she almost thought she heard "Now you all see how awesome she can be, Karui, the awesome kunoichi student of me, the rappin' host of the Hachibi!"

"Not only an impressive display of kenjutsu, but an excellent display of sportsmanship after the fight. You should be proud of that one Raikage-Dono." "Indeed Hokage-Dono, I'm very pleased by her results."

"Hmph, but on a battle field would you really heal your opponent's wounds? No! You'd finish them off!" stated the Tsuchikage. "This isn't a war zone though, Tsuchikage-dono, these are just kids." Countered Dodai. "While I agree with your thought process I hardly think the Chunin exam finals are the place to go out of your way to kill some one."

From the arena floor Darui called out "In order to allow the fighters time to rest and recover their chakra we will now take a 3 hour break. You are allowed to leave the stadium, however you must have your hand stamped on the way out, and will need both the stamp and your ticket stub to re-enter the arena. In the interest of giving those of you placing bets the maximum amount of time to place them we will now determine whom will fight in each semi-final match.

The arena's video board began cycling through the names of the four remaining finalists before finally stopping on "Match 1: Shino Aburame vs. Karui. Match 2: Kurotsuchi Kamizuru vs. Z Yotsuki."

-End of Chapter-

Next time on Naruto Yotsuki: Hiashi reports Naruto's 2nd chakra to Tsunade and Jiraya! How will they react! Also the Semi finals are underway as Shino takes on Karui and Kurotsuchi clashes with Naruto! Who will make it to the finals?

* * *

Hey I tried something new! Flashbacks. Since the show uses them all the damn time I figured I'd try out a couple here. Previously I was just explaining background information. Not sure if I prefer using flashbacks or just explanations.

Yes I know Shino's method of victory is a bit strange, but my plans for the other matchups made a Shino vs. Neji match up a necessity, and Shino is one of my favorite characters and I really wanted him to win, so I had to come up with some way for it to happen. I get that even by Naruto standards it is fairly ridiculous, but it is what I came up with on short notice.

References from Chapter 9:

The chapter is named after Duke Ellington's 1938 classic "Prelude To A Kiss" one of my favorite Big Band Jazz Ballads.

Thanks for reading,

-Col. Bogey


	15. Chapter 11 Chunin Exam Finals Part 2

-I don't own Naruto. Naruto was created by Kishimoto, please support the official release. Thanks for reading my first attempt at fan fiction-

 _Italics are thoughts._

 _-_ _Italics within hyphens provides the setting-_

-Non Italics within hyphens denotes a flashback or the end of a flashback. It can also denote the end of the chapter-

* * *

In the depths of Kumo's stadium was a small infirmary, where contestants could be healed. Within the medical station were 12 small rooms, allowing for up to 12 patients to heal in privacy. The station also had an underground tunnel connected directly to the hospital for cases serious enough that they couldn't be treated at the stadium.

In one of the 12 rooms a still unconscious Sakura Haruno was being looked over by a medic nin, however this medic nin appeared to be out of place. For one thing she appeared nervous, and was constantly glancing over her shoulder. She also stood out because over her brown hair was not a Kumo headband, but a Konoha band.

Shizune had snuck into Sakura's room, and having ascertained that her sibling student was alright she set out to fulfill her mission. _There must be something here, blood, hair, anything._ She took a swab of the blood on Sakura's forehead, she found a hair that looked out of place on one of Sakura's knuckles and grabbed it as well. She continued her investigation for a few moments before she heard one of the Kumo medics heading towards the room. She quickly hid and waited for her chance to escape.

 _-The Konoha Suite-_

To say that Tsunade was pissed off would be an understatement. Despite the fact that 4 Konoha genin had made the finals only one had advanced to the semi-finals. On top of that her own apprentice had made a fool of her by confessing her willingness to betray the village for a missing-nin. The Tsuchikage and Raikage had teased her about it so much that she got out of the Kage Box as quickly as possible and headed to check on the rest of her village's delegation.

Upon arrival she beckoned Kakashi, Hiashi, and Asuma into a small side room and laid out a privacy seal. "Alright, the Yotsuki Boy, what do we think?"Hiashi, still unaware of the others' suspicions, spoke first.

"His chakra reserves are massive, far beyond that of even a jonin. I'd wager he even has more chakra than most Kage. When he broke out of the genjutsu a second type of chakra emerged, this one far more sinister than the other. Normally his chakra is blue, this one was red. As soon as he broke the genjutsu he reeled the chakra back in and I could only see his normal blue chakra."

"To be honest Hokage-sama, with Sakura using the hidden mist technique neither Asuma nor I could really see anything." said Kakashi. "That's ok, I have Shizune looking for any physical evidence on Sakura's body, as long as she finds something we can add that to what you two observed previously and Hiashi-san's observations here to really analyze what's going on with that boy.

"Beg Pardon Hokage-sama, but what good will physical evidence do?" spoke Asuma. "Plenty, thanks to a something my former teammate left the village." "Jiraya-sama? What does he have to do with this?" asked Hiashi. "I wasn't talking about that teammate..." Tsunade's voice trailed off as the painful memory of the third Sanin's betrayal took over.

The three others in the room with her incredulous expressions on their faces, so eventually Tsunade elaborated. "Orochimaru was forced to flee in a hurry and left a good chunk of his notes. Many of his experiments were in-humane and you can be sure that the notes on them have been destroyed, however there were several perfectly ethical studies that he did that Sarutobi-sensei and I have secretly allowed to continue. One was a theory on the genetic differences between people. Orochimaru theorized that every person has their own slightly unique genetic makeup, which he called DNA. He took samples from a variety of people, and unfortunately, from graves as well, from throughout the ninja world and was able to prove his theory correct. He also left notes and plans for a machine that analyzes DNA. After many years our scientists have finally finished the machine. Shizune is checking Sakura over for any hair or blood or something else that might let us look at the Yotsuki boy's DNA. Needless to say all of this information is classified."

- _The Green Room-_

The four semi-finalists were preparing in their own ways. Shino had a light meal as soon as the 3 hour break had started and had spent the rest of the time in a corner meditating. Kurotsuchi had spoken with Naruto a bit before getting a bite to eat and taking a nap. Naruto and Karui had spent most of the break together, and were eating a meal.

"I can't wait until we face each other in the finals Baka-kun." "Yeah, it'll be great Karui-chan, I can't wait to win!" "In you're dreams Baka, you'll never beat me." The two teammates continued to taunt and tease each other until it was time for the semi-finals to begin, confident that they would meet in the finals.

- _The Yotsuki Clan Box-_

Naruto's victory, and Karui's victory as well, had put the members of the Yotsuki clan and their guests into a festive and jovial mood. Kumo had been in somewhat of an embarrassing situation with so few of their genin making it to the tournament despite the fact that they were the host village, but their fortunes had changed as going into the semi finals they suddenly had the most shinobi left in the competition.

All of this led to a small party breaking out in the Yotsuki clan box, as the clan ordered large amounts of food and drink from the stadium's kitchens and celebrated how successful the 1st round was. Omoi scanned the room, taking in the sight of his sensei conversing with Naruto's parents, of Naruto's cousin and clan heiress cuddled up next to her boyfriend talking about the fights, and of the Yotsuki clan head beaming with pride as he talked to other spectators about his nephew. _Naruto, Karui, you were both great, and I'm sure you're going to get promoted! I couldn't have asked for better friends and teammates, but I can't fall behind. I need to get stronger._

- _The Kage Box-_

Tsunade sat through Darui re-introducing the semi-finalists and reviewing the rules trying to keep an even expression. In truth she was worried. Shizune hadn't reported in yet. Shizune was one of Konoha's top medical nin and a talented jonin, Tsunade was confident of her apprentice's abilities. Shizune wouldn't have had a problem with her mission.

The only danger was if she had been discovered. _Perhaps she was forced to hide and hasn't found a good time to make her escape yet. If she was caught surely the Raikage would have been notified. I'll have to keep an eye on him,_ thought the worried Sanin as she settled in to watch Konoha's sole semi-finalist fight.

- _The Arena Floor-_

Karui and Shino faced each other all through Darui's reintroductions and rule reviews. _This Shino guy seems to be really strong, plus those bugs are dangerous. He's also very obviously a good strategist. That being said the Aburame clan are known to have relatively low chakra reserves, since they have to allow their insects to eat most of it. The longer this fight goes on the more likely I am to win,_ thought Karui.

Though she was impulsive she wasn't stupid, and she was confident in her strategy. Across the arena Shino's sunglasses were staring straight ahead, but underneath the shades his eyes were darting back and forth as his mind quickly and logically analyzed the arena and his opponent.

 _Karui-san is strong but impulsive. Though my Taijutsu is better than the average Aburame I would be at a disadvantage if this battle becomes a close range affair, and I doubt the clone trick I used to allow my insects to survive the fire jutsu in the last round will work a second time. She'll be sure to double check that her lighting took out my insects. I am at a disadvantage, however there are many ways that I can win, I simply need to fight as Shikamaru-san did during his fight in the last chunin exams and make sure I am several steps ahead of my opponent. Perhaps if I use her brash and impulsive nature against her..._ thought the Aburame heir before he began communicating with the queen of his beetle hive, reviewing the plan he had come up with during his hours of meditation during the break. As Darui began the fight Shino put his plan into motion.

Karui channeled lighting chakra into her feet and dashed towards her opponent. She was counting on the lighting chakra to keep any beetles off of her feet, preventing a repeat of what had happened in Shino's last fight. She drew her sword and called out "Cloud Style Beheading" before slashing at Shino.

She hadn't infused any chakra into the technique, but it was still a powerful strike with a sharp blade, and Shino stumbled back before breaking into a mass of beetles, revealing that the Shino that had been slashed was actually an insect clone. Karui jumped back and assumed a defensive stance, expecting a counter attack, but none came.

- _5 Minutes Later-_

Shino still hadn't appeared, and Karui was struggling to contain her temper. "Darui-san it's clear that the coward fled, call the match!" she screamed out. Darui took a look over to a part of the arena where a couple of Kumo ANBU were seated in the front row. These ANBU were both sensor type ninjas, and had been placed for just this type of situation.

They shook their heads, indicating that Shino was still in the arena, so Darui did nothing. This only enraged Karui more, and she screamed out "come out and fight me coward!" before stabbing her katana into the ground. Seeing his opportunity, Shino made his move.

-Flashback-

Ino and Sakura were having a quiet lunch at a Dango stand when Shino approached them. "Yamanaka-san, Haruno-san. I wish to speak to you about your teammate from the 2nd round of the exams. That's because I'm trying to get as much information as possible about my potential opponents." "Of course Shino-san, what would you like to know?" responded Sakura.

"In our debriefing with Hokage-sama you mentioned that Karui-san is stubborn, aggressive, and has a temper, much like yourselves, would you also say that she is impatient?" The two girls were a bit taken aback by Shino's bluntness, but they were also a bit afraid of their strange, aloof, entomologically inclined classmate, and didn't react with the normal anger they would have had if anyone else had called them stubborn and aggressive.

After a minute of composing herself Ino responded. "Yes she's very impatient, and the more impatient she gets the more likely she is to get tunnel vision and make a mistake." Shino nodded in acknowledgment before setting a bit of money down on the table.

"Thank you for your assistance, please have an order of Dango on me, that's because, I don't want to be in anyone's debt. And also because we are friends, are we not?" He then walked away, but his insects that he left behind reported that the two girls watched him walk out with completely dumbfounded expressions, which caused Shino to have a playful smile as he walked down Konoha's streets.

The next morning Shino found himself in a light spar with Lee as part of Gai's group training on speed and stamina for the finalists. "For an Aburmae your Taijutsu is most youthful Shino-kun!" Yelled an obviously pleased Gai, however Shino didn't have the stamina to keep going and soon the fight was over and Shino was panting heavily.

"I believe it would be best to work on your endurance, Shino-kun." said Konoha's eccentric Taijutsu master. "As an Aburame you have to give a portion of your chakra reserves to your beetles, and while they are powerful allies that essentially limits most Aburame to exclusivley insect techniques, and they tend to ignore Taijutsu, Genjutsu, and Ninjutsu. You have already impressed me with your better than the average Aburame Taijutsu skills. I believe if we work on your endurance your chakra reserves will increase, this will allow you to not only last longer in Taijutsu fights, but you could also possibly be able to add some ninjutsu to your morning I want you to do 100 laps around Konoha in one hour. For each second over the hour that it takes you I want you to do 200 one-handed pushups, alternating hands every 50. If you are unable to complete that I want you to do 1000 sit up, if you are unable to do that..."

Gai continued on and on with a seemingly endless amount of 'if you can't do x do y' scenarios. Shino's morning training for the next month was absolute hell, but it had results. Within one week he had enough chakra to develop the clone technique he used against Neji, and by the end of the month he had enough chakra for a few other tricks as well.

- _End Flashback_ -

The moment Karui had lodged her Katana in the ground Shino new the time was right. He ran through hand signs and called out "Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu", though as he was underground nobody heard him.

Karui was pulled underground until only her head was above ground, and Shino was on the surface standing over her. In the Kage Box the Tsuchikage, angered at seeing new abilities in enemy clans, called out in frustration "First a Hyuga used elemental ninjutsu and now an Aburame uses elemental ninjutsu! What next, a Yamanaka using wood style?" Tsunade smirked in pleasure at seeing the stubborn Tsuchikage throw a tantrum.

Back in the arena Karui was also yelling in frustration. "How is this possible? Everyone knows most Aburame don't have enough Chakra to do something like this, much less a Genin! How are you doing this?" "I'd suggest you save your energy for getting out of the ground, that's because as we speak my insects are working on draining your chakra."

While Shino stayed on guard Karui struggled to try to get out of the ground, meanwhile underground her body was completely covered in beetles gorging themselves on her chakra. Karui was so angry that she wasn't thinking clearly.

All it would have taken was channeling lighting chakra through her body to neutralize the threat posed by Shino's beetles, but in her blind rage she didn't think to do that. She continued to struggle to free her self until her chakra reserves were exhausted and she passed out. "Karui is out of chakra and unable to continue. Shino Aburame advances to the finals!"

Much like with Shino's last fight Kurenai's other students looked to her expectantly, hoping she would explain their teammate's new found skills.

"Thanks to Gai-sensei's brutal training Shino-kun's chakra reserves grew a lot. His reserves are now big enough for him to use 1 low level genjutsu and 2 mid to low level ninjutsu in a fight and still be at his previous chakra level. Due to the fact that Genjutsu is my specialty all three of you have an above average level of knowledge of genjutsu for gennin, however Shino never had the chakra to use it until now. He used a genjutsu to hide underground and left an insect clone in his place. Then he waited. Karui-san's impatience grew and eventually she was no longer thinking clearly, that's when Shino struck. His affinity is Earth, so he used that jutsu to trap his enemy and then had his insects drain her chakra."

"Damn that was bad ass, I need to train harder. I can't let my best human friend get ahead of me!" yelled an enthusiastic Kiba, while Akamaru barked in agreement. _Shino-kun has become so strong, I need to be strong to, I can't stay weak. I won't be a liability to my teammates. Kiba-kun and Shino-kun always go out of their way to help me. I will be strong for them_ thought a newly determined Hinata.

"Damn, I guess I won't get to fight Karui-chan in the finals. That Shino guy is tough." said Naruto to no one in particular, however his opponent heard him. "What do you mean you fight in the finals Z-kun? There's no way you're beating me, I'm going to be the next Tsuchikage!" "Well I'm going to be the next Raikage and I meant what I said Kurotsuchi-chan. I'm making it to the finals, and there is nothing you can do to stop me!"

- _The Kage Box-_

The Raikage was deep in thought after that fight. _Hm. It's unfortunate that Karui lost but her showing in the 1st round was more than enough to promote her. I'm more worried about Naruto, since his teammate lost I'm sure he is going to be extra motivated to win this tournament._

 _On one hand it would be embarrassing to Kumo for us to not win the tournament as we are the host, but on the other hand Naruto will likely attract too much attention for one trying to hide their heritage if he ends up winning. It's already bad enough that he let out the Kyubi chakra._ _Even though it was only for a second it did not go unnoticed by the other Kage, meaning they are going to be even more interested in him. This is truly a predicament._

He was brought out of his thoughts when he realized the Tsuchikage was speaking to him. "Your Yotsuki boy was impressive in the first round Raikage-dono, but I'm afraid his run ends here. There is no way he can beat my Granddaughter." "Are you so sure about that Tsuchikage-dono? Yotsuki-san is always full of surprises."

- _The Arena-_

Naruto and Kurotsuchi were both excited and eager to begin their match, and their body language said as much as they actively stretched, hopped, and jogged in place on the arena floor while waiting for Darui to begin the match. "Just because we're friends doesn't mean I'll go easy on you, Z-kun!" "I'd be insulted if you did, Kurotsuchi-chan. Let's give it our all to see who gets to fight bug boy tomorrow." "The 2nd Semifinal match: Z Yotsuki vs. Kurotsuchi Kamizuru. Begin!"

 _Z-kun's chakra reserves are insanely high, I can't hope to out last him, I have to restrain him and end this quickly!_ "Lava Style: Quicklime Jutsu!"

 _Kurotsuchi-chan's really strong, probably stronger than me. My big advantage over her is my chakra. I need to outlast her. Can't let her hit me with Lava Style or it's all over._ Naruto jumped out of the way of the quicklime technique and retreated towards the edge of the arena, making 5 shadow clones as he ran. The clones joined the original and tried to quickly change places, hoping to confuse Kurotsuchi as to which was the original before all six Narutos split up and headed to different parts of the arena. The six placed them self as far away from each other as possible, and Kurotsuchi realized Naruto's strategy almost immediately. _Damn it! He knows he can out last me and he's trying to wear me out, this is gonna be tough._

Kurotsuchi was a talented kunoichi. She took pride in the fact that her grandfather was the Tsuchikage, and though it didn't happen often she loved it when her grandfather took the time to personally train her. She had easily seen through the attempts to confuse her as to which Naruto was the original and headed towards the one she knew to be the real Naruto.

She threw a couple of Kunai, one at Naruto and one to Naruto's left before launching another quicklime Jutsu. The Kunai forced Naruto to jump to his right, right towards where the quicklime jutsu was aimed. Before he realized what had happened Naruto was caught in the cement like substance. As he struggled to free himself Kurotsuchi charged forward and hit him square in the jaw with a powerful uppercut.

There were two quick poofs of smoke before Naruto dissipated, it was a shadow clone. On the other side of the arena Naruto concealed his panting. _Phew, I'm lucky I was able to use the Substitution Justu and trade places with a clone. My attempts to confuse her as to which me was the real me must have failed, still she shouldn't be able to figure out which me is the original now._

- _The Kage Box-_

Tsunade was impressed as she watched the fight. Both shinobi were clearly already chunin level, and if she was honest with herself she knew Shino was in a tough spot no matter who he faced in the finals.

Her thoughts turned specifically to the boy she suspected to be her godson. _The fact that he can make 5 shadow clones is impressive, most jonin can't even make more than three, just more circumstantial evidence I suppose._ _Still, maybe I can have a little fun with this._ "Tell me Raikage-dono...Shadow Clones are a forbidden technique developed by my great uncle Tobirama Senju, and kept secret by Konoha, how is it that this boy from Kumo knows the technique?"

A however had fully anticipated that she might ask this question, and was prepared for it. "Please Hokage-dono, Konoha is well known for producing very high level rogue ninja. Rogue Ninja have a rough life and need to be willing to do anything to survive. Is it really that difficult to imagine a scenario where one of them teaches others to use the technique for food or money? I don't have many shinobi that know how to use the technique, most favor lighting clones, but I do have a few."

"I also have a small number of shinobi under my command who know how to use the technique Raikage-dono. Konoha is indeed arrogant if they think their forbidden techniques can remain secret, after all nothing stays secret forever." chimed in Onoiki, eager to see Tsunade squirm, though his last sentence had the unintended consequence of making A even more concerned about Naruto.

- _The Arena-_

Three shadow clones had been defeated. Two clones and the original remained, though Kurotsuchi was no longer sure which was the original. She had used a fair amount of chakra, but still had at least half of her reserves.

Naruto on the other hand was doing much better. After his initial scare where he was forced to use substitution to escape he had stood still while Kurotsuchi destroyed the other two clones, trying to formulate a strategy. Naruto had received a solid education in tactics in Kumo, both from the academy and from his clan.

He was certainly no strategic genius, and he usually preferred his rash, impulsive, endurance and perseverance based battle strategy; but he was taking advantage of the Kurotsuchi's difficulty in finding the actual Naruto to put his education to good use.

 _Let's see, I probably shouldn't make another round of shadow clones, I am supposed to be keeping as low of a profile as possible after all. I'm sure the Hokage and Tsuchikage and already suspicious of me since I accidentally let out some of the fox's chakra in the last fight._

 _If I overwhelm Kurotsuchi-chan with clones that will essentially prove that I'm a jinchuurkiki, and that will raise too many questions. I'm going to have to beat her some other way. She probably wouldn't fall for the genjutsu I used to beat the fangirl, and Otousan and Gennai-oji still haven't figured out how to adapt the more powerful clan genjutsus to allow me to use them. Kurotsuchi-chan doesn't really seem to carry a weapon beyond some shuriken and kunai. Maybe I can beat her with kenjutsu? That also wouldn't raise too many questions as tons of Kumo nin are skilled in Kenjutsu. Perfect!_

As Kurotsuchi finished off yet another clone both the final remaining clone and the original drew Katanas. Kurotsuchi grinned and pulled out a few shuriken, flinging them at both remaining Narutos before charging towards one of them with a Kunai drawn. The two blades met, and after a brief exchange it was apparent that a kenjutsu battle wasn't going to be as easy as Naruto had expected.

"I know I don't look like it, Z-kun, but I'm actually quite skilled with a blade. I didn't bring my sword with me because I wanted to lull opponents into doubting my abilities, but I assure you that this Kunai is more than enough for me to be able to hold my own against you."

"I'm impressed Kurotsuchi-chan. Like Konoha and Suna, Iwa doesn't have much of a reputation for kenjutsu, at least not compared to the great sword using nations of Kiri and Kumo, but you're very good." As Kurotsuchi had said she was able to hold off her opponent, but the fact that she was armed with only a Kunai put her at an extreme disadvantage and she was forced to show off quite a bit of her kenjutsu style.

Finally she had had enough. With a quick motion she drew a kunai in her other hand and charged at Naruto, she used one blade to strike at his head, forcing him to use his blade to deflect, and leaving his stomach exposed. She sliced at his stomach, but instead of the expected blood all she got was smoke as her opponent disappeared.

 _Damn! I was sure that one was the original. He forced me to show off way to much of my abilities, if the original Z-kun takes me on now he'll be at an advantage. I know I'm starting to run low on chakra, but I need to mix in some lava style if I am going to have any chance._

While those thoughts were running through her head her body language showed nothing but confidence as she starred down the last Naruto. _"_ Your clones are all gone now Z-kun," she said tauntingly.

"It's just you and me now. You have a lot of chakra, but I don't think you have enough to make more and still be able to fight." "You found me, Kurotsuchi-chan. Thanks for switching to using that Kunai, it made that clone last a lot longer than the others." _I'm glad she proclaimed that she doesn't think I have enough chakra for more clones, that will help me hide my true powers._

"You got me, I can't make more clones, but I won't need to, it looks like you're starting to run low on chakra, and I have more than enough left to beat you." Naruto lied, he had enough chakra left to make hundreds, if not thousands of clones, but he was trying to hide that fact. He knew some shinobi would see through it, especially if there was a Hyuga watching the fight with their Byakugan activated, be he hoped it would at least help him keep a low profile with Iwa.

Once more Naruto let Kurotsuchi run all the way across the arena, further tiring herself out. His clones had been positioned in such a way to maximize the amount of distance she had to travel to fight them, and all the running interspersed with fighting was taking its toll. _She's a bit slower than she was earlier, perfect._

The crowd in the arena had been captivated during the fight, and now the tension rose as the audience realized that the fight was about to reach a decisive moment. As with earlier Kurotsuchi used shuriken and Kunai to force Naruto in one direction while also launching a quicklime Jutsu. She analyzed the situation and predicted where Naruto was going to land if he managed to dodge all of the Kunai and her jutsu, and headed there with yet another Kunai drawn.

Naruto saw the Kunai coming and dodged, but he learned his lesson from earlier and when the quicklime came he simply adjusted his movements to end up beyond the reach of the lava style technique. Noticing his opponent charging forward he readied his katana, but unlike the clones he channeled his chakra through the katana.

As Kurotsuchi lunged at him he countered with his Katana, the wind chakra channeling through it acting to slice through the kunai and leave a deep gash in Kurotsuchi's stomach. Kurotsuchi collapsed to the ground bleeding and exhausted. As the medics rushed out Darui called the fight and the crowd erupted in applause at seeing the home town fighter advance to the finals. Naruto pumped his fist and leapt into the air in joy.

- _The Konoha Box-_

"Unbelievable, he infused his katana with Wind Style Chakra like I do with my knives! I mean sure infusing chakra into weapons is pretty standard for Kumo, but Wind Style?!" Exclaimed a frantic Asuma, the adrenaline from watching such an intense fight still coursing through him. Kakashi on the other hand was much calmer.

"Now, Now Asuma. Just because Raiton is the most common chakra affinity in Kumo doesn't mean it is the only affinity. I've seen a few wind style users from Kumo over the years, it's not common but it isn't unheard of."

- _The Kage Box-_

"Damnit! How did that whelp beat my granddaughter!" exclaimed the Tsuchikage, frustrated at seeing his granddaughter, and the last standing Iwa-nin, fail to make the final fight. A on the other hand could barely contain his joy.

After several minutes a messenger appeared with a scroll and handed it to A. "Ah, it seems that the other judges have made their decisions for all of the genin who have already been eliminated."

A took a couple of minutes to review the scroll before grinning and addressing the other two Kage. "It seems the group of genin that made the finals this year were very strong, the judges were quite impressed. Neji Hyuga, Choji Akimichi, Kurotsuchi Kamizuru, and Karui are all unanimously recommended for chunin. Though it was not unanimous it seems like Sakura Haruno was just barely able to get enough votes to be recommended."

"Remind me, Raikage-dono, in you alliance's chunin exams this vote is just a recommendation, not a final decision, correct?"

"That is correct, Hokage-dono. I don't know how it works in the Konoha-Suna alliance joint exams, but in the Iwa-Kumo exams the final decision is left up to the Kage. The recommendation is merely that. Several Nobles, retired shinobi, and VIP clients are simply giving their opinion, but ultimately the fate of your genin rests in your hands. All we ask is that only those who passed the 2nd round be considered for promotion."

 _Choji and Neji both deserve it, Shino too, but there's no way my apprentice is getting promoted after that little stunt she pulled._ _She needs to be taught a lesson about humiliating her shishou,_ thought a vengeful Hokage.

- _The Yotsuki Box-_

As happy as he was to see his teammate win Omoi had to cover his ears. The Yotsuki Box was very loud when Darui called the match, as just about every person in the room was screaming in joy.

 _It's a good thing they put those privacy seals on the box other wise the whole stadium could hear all these people,_ he though. To add insult to the injury of his aching ears he could easily hear his sensei's terrible rap: "Way to go, Na-ru-to, Your skills you had to show, And you did, what a kid, I'm so proud, so B-sama's gonna get loud! Fool!"

- _The Arena Floor-_

Darui beckoned Shino out onto the arena floor and had him stand facing Naruto. When the crowd quieted down Darui addressed the stadium. "The final match between Shino Aburame of Konoha and Z Yotsuki of Kumo will take place tomorrow to allow both fighters to recover over night. Starting at 3pm this stadium will host several exhibition matches for you to gamble on before the main event, which will take place at 5. We hope to see you back here tomorrow afternoon for the conclusion of the chunin exams.

"Shino-san, I can't wait to fight you tomorrow, let's give these people a show to remember." "I'm confident we will, Yotsuki-san. That's because I believe we are both already well above Genin level."

- _The Konoha Box-_

"Alright! Let's go congratulate Shino!" cried out Kiba as he rushed to the door. He opened it to find 2 Kumo ANBU blocking his path. "Hey what gives? Let us out!" he yelled. "Please remain here until the stadium has emptied, afterwards we will escort you to Aburame-san." stated one of the ANBU.

"Is there a problem, ANBU-san?" asked Shibi Aburame, who despite his calm composure was anxious to see his son. "No, this is just procedure. We used to have problems with unscrupulous nobles trying to bribe or threaten family members to get fighters to throw the finals for gambling purposes, so we keep the finalists and their friends and family locked down until we confirm that everyone else has left the stadium, you'll see Shino-san soon enough."

- _The Arena Floor, a half hour later-_

The Raikage, Hokage, Konoha delegation, Yotsuki Clan higher ups, and Naruto's friends and teammates greeted the finalists with great enthusiasm and hearty congratulations. On one side of the arena Kurenai, Shibi, and Tsunade looked on proudly as the other members of the leaf 10, and an incredibly enthusiastic Gai, mobbed Shino, who looked uncomfortable with the amount of attention he was receiving.

On the opposite side A, B, and the higher ups of the Yotsuki clan also looked on proudly as Cloud 9 and Hikari made a similar crowd around Naruto. After several minutes of celebrations the Konoha delegation was escorted back to their hotel. Similarly the Yotsuki clan members made their way back to their clan compound.

"Hey, Kaa-san, can we go get ramen to celebrate tonight?" asked a hopeful Naruto as he stepped into the family home. "Absolutely not, Naruto-kun. You need something healthy to recover your energy for tomorrow. If you win or get promoted we'll go out to celebrate, but for now you need your strength."

"Oh, I guess you're right. I'm gonna go clean up, I'll be back down for dinner in a bit, ok Kaa-san?" "Of course, Naruto-kun. Your father and I are very proud of you and love you very much." As Naruto turned to go upstairs to his room he missed seeing the strange mixture of a look of absolute pride on his mother face and massive tears falling from her eyes.

When Sora Yotsuki first found out that her adopted son had learned of his true heritage and met his birth mother through some strange side effect of his seal she had been terrified. She had been sure that her son would reject her and her husband and grow distant from them.

Now, several weeks later, she couldn't help but tear up every time he called her mom. He hadn't rejected her, he still considered her his mother. She was incredibly proud of her son, and so happy that despite what had happened she was still a part of his life. As she started to work on preparing dinner she couldn't help but reflect on the day she had met Naruto.

-Flashback, the night that baby Naruto was brought before Kumo's council-

The Third Shinobi war had been over for almost two years, but that was no comfort to Sora and Koshiro Yotsuki. "Curse that Chiyo, Curse Sunagakure! They've ruined my career, forced me to quit being a kunoichi, and now another side effect of that damned poison is that I can't have children?!" screamed a despondent Sora in her hospital room.

She had just woken up after yet another surgery. During the war one of Suna's puppet users had poisoned her, and still, three years after the incident, she was still dealing with the side effects.

"But you're alive my love." came the response from Koshiro. The two had only been married a short time when the incident occurred, so the majority of their married life had been spent dealing with Sora's medical issues.

"The poison is one that was unknown to our doctors and medical nin, they removed as much of it as they could back when you were first brought in after the battle, but they didn't have the capabilities to make a proper antidote back then. Most of the others hit by the poison died. What is a kidney transplant and the removal of your ovaries compared to your life?" "I know, but I always thought of us raising a family together, now that's not going to happen."

"This war has left a lot of orphans who could use a mother like you, Sora-chan. Maybe we can adopt one."

At that moment there was a knock on the door, and in walked Gennai Yotsuki. "Oni-san, we weren't expecting you, how was the council meeting?" asked Koshiro. "It was fine, little brother, I'm more concerned about the well being of my sister in-law." "I'll live Gennai-kun, but unfortunately I'll never be able to make you an uncle." said a clearly distraught Sora.

"As it happens I may have a solution. The emergency council meeting was to discuss an orphaned baby." Gennai motioned and in walked another member of the Yotsuki clan, cradling Naruto. Gennai continued: "I know how much you two wanted a child, and I suspected this surgery would leave you unable to have one of your own. Raikage-sama wanted this child to go to a good home, and I recommended you two. I should warn you though, this child comes with a lot of baggage." "How so, Oni-san?"

Gennai took the baby Naruto and motioned for the other clan member to leave. After the door was closed and locked Gennai activated the privacy seal that was standard for all hospital rooms in Kumo.

"This child was kidnapped from Konoha. This child is not only the son of the Yellow Flash, but also the jinchuuriki of the Kyubi. His name is Naruto, and his lineage was hidden from the villagers of Konoha, who only knew about the fox, not his parents. With a few exceptions they saw him as the fox itself, and not its jailer. This child is less than two years old and yet has already survived multiple assassination attempts. When Raikage-sama learned all of this he ordered that the boy be brought here. I'm sure you can imagine what would happen if Konoha learned that we have their jinchuuriki, or if Iwa knew we were harboring the son of the Yellow Flash."

Koshiro and Sora both nodded solemnly. "You are of course free to say no, I understand if you choose to do so, but I thought I would give you the opportunity, Raikage-sama will summon you tomorrow to learn your final decision on the matter." "Let me see him." said Sora. Gennai brought Naruto over to her hospital bead and placed him in her arms.

"Naruto-kun, I'm so sorry that Konoha treated you like that, you deserve better. Here in Kumo we respect our jinchuuriki, so even if your secret gets out no one will bother you here." The one year old Naruto stared at Sora with his piercing blue eyes before raising a small arm, and with a tiny hand he tried to grab her nose.

Koshiro watched in awe as his wife interacted with the small boy. _Sora-chan has been so depressed these past three years, with the constant doctors visits, relapses from the poison, and surgeries. I don't think I've seen her this happy since our wedding day._

"I take it you've made up your mind, dear?" "Yes Koshiro-kun. I want to raise him as our own, that is if you're ok with it." she looked at him pleadingly, applying the shinobi version of what can only be described as "puppy dog eyes". "Well we did always want a family, and it's been a long time since I've seen you this happy. Oni-chan, I take it the clan and the village will have our backs should his secrets get out."

"Of course, you will have the full support of the Yotsuki-clan, and Raikage-sama wanted me to assure you that you will have the full support of the village as well. Not that the council has any real power, but they unanimously backed this as well." "Then I guess the decision has already been made. If you don't mind Sora-chan, I'd like to hold our son."

-Flashback Over-

Sora was pulled out of her day dream by a pair of arms being wrapped around her waist and the familiar voice of her husband whispering in her ear. "Can you imagine where we'd be if Naruto hadn't come into our lives?". "I don't even want to think about that dear, now help me with dinner."

-Later that Night, the Konoha Delegation's hotel-

As Hokage, Tsunade had been given the single largest and most luxurious room in the hotel. Even after all the drinking she had done to celebrate the fact that Shino had made the final match, and despite the comfortable bed, she was unable to sleep.

She turned to look at the clock. _2am, ugh. Alcohol is supposed to be a depressant, so why can't I sleep. Damnit Shizune, where are you?_ She continued to toss and turn for what seemed like an eternity. The last time she remembered looking at the clock it read 3:45am, and at some point after that sleep finally overtook her, but even her dreams were filled with concern for her apprentice.

-End Chapter-

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Quick Note since a few people have asked about this:

Yes Shadow Clones are a secret Konoha technique HOWEVER: According to Narutopedia there are several non Konoha characters able to use the technique. How? I don't know, but I'm taking advantage of it to say that Naruto and a couple of other Kumo characters know the technique. Not everyone of course, just a couple.

Other updates, announcements, and tidbits:

Quick reminder on some of the OC members of the Yotsuki clan since some of them haven't appeared in a while but pop back up here.

Koshiro Yotsuki: Naruto's adoptive father, early forties.

Sora Yotsuki: Naruto's adoptive mother, 40, blonde hair.

Gennai Yotsuki: Head of the clan, Koshiro's older brother (also making him Naruto's uncle).

Hikari Yotsuki: Heiress of the clan, Gennai's daugher. Naruto's cousin. Chunin. 16 Years old (2 years older then Naruto.)

Hikari also has a boyfriend named Takeru, who was in the same orphanage as Naruto and was also kidnapped to help cover Naruto's kidnapping. He was then adopted by one of the ANBU who performed the kidnapping. Like Hikari he is a 16 year old Chunin.

I know there was a lot of Shino and not a lot of Karui in that first fight, and given that this is a Kumo centric story that may seem a little odd, but Shino is my absolute favorite character in Naruto, and I'll take any chance I can get to explore his character a bit more. There will be plenty of time for more Karui (and Omoi) later on.

It's very likely that the next chapter or possibly two that I publish will be Interludes. This is because I am getting busier as my first semester of Grad School winds down and all of the major assignments and papers are looming, along with finals in about a month. (I'm sure many of you noticed it took longer than normal for me to publish this chapter, thanks for your patience) and I also want to make sure I wrap this Arc up nicely, so it will take me longer to write. In other words I want to devote more time to the next couple of chapters but have less time to actually write. That being said I have 3 Interludes that are 95% completed and just about ready to go, so I figure while I am doing my due diligence on the last couple chapters of this Arc it won't take long to finish an Interlude or two and give you something to read in the meantime. You're likely to see either a Suna interlude or a Sasuske-Orochimaru interlude next, probably Suna. At this point I think my next few updates will look something like this: Suna Interlude, Chapter 12, Sauce-Snake Interlude, Chapter 13, Konoha Interlude with a Kunoichi focus, Chapter 14 starting a new arc. Hopefully during December I'll be able to devote more time to writing, but until the end of the semester Grad School has to take first priority. Again, thanks for your patience.

Also I just thought I'd point out that Duolingo has released a Japanese for English speakers course. Personally I'm a bit too preoccupied with the Spanish and French Courses (as well as keeping up my German, as having the ability to translate multiple European Languages into English is a part of my degree program), but I thought since this is a fan-fiction based on a Japanese franchise some of you might be interested. Japanese is going on the long list of courses I want to do when I finish the ones I'm working on right now.

We hit the 50 story favorites mark! Thank You for your support!

References:

There are no intentional references from outside of the Naruto Franchise in Chapter 10. That being said I thought I could mention that the idea for the Aural based Genjutsu I gave to the Yotsuki clan. (which according to Narutopedia is an actual clan, I just made up their secret techniques and Kekkai Genkai, along with most of the members) It comes from a couple of post war episodes of Shippuden where Shikamaru goes up against a guy who can put someone under a Genjutsu just by speaking to them. Since so much of the genjutsu we see in the show is ocular based I thought the idea of the aural based genjutsu this guy uses was really cool. The last episode of that mini arc is also a must watch for any ShikaTema fans out there. Speaking of ShikaTema fans the Suna Interlude I have in the works will have an interesting take on that relationship that I have yet to see in any fanfiction (but with hundreds of thousands of them on this site it's not like I've read everything.)

Thanks for reading

-Col. Bogey


	16. Interlude: Who Wants To Be Kazekage?

-I don't own Naruto. Naruto was created by Kishimoto, please support the official release. Thanks for reading my first attempt at fan fiction-

 _Italics are thoughts, or information on the setting. It should be fairly obvious which is which_

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Just a quick reminder that you'll be seeing more interludes intermixed with chapters for the next few updates. See the post chapter stuff on the last page for the full explanation, but the TLDR is that I have less time to write (temporarily) and I happen to have 3 Interludes that are 95% done, so I'm alternating them and main story chapters to buy myself time to work on the main story. In case you've forgotten Interludes are short vignettes on other aspects of the Shinobi world that don't necessarily impact the main story of Yotsuki Naruto (Or they do, but aren't deserving of being main chapters, this one for example). Please enjoy this Suna based Interlude with some ShikaTema overtones. Again, thanks for your patience.

-Col. Bogey

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 _-Sunagakure, The Village Hidden in the Sand-_

Shikamaru found Sunagakure troublesome. It was hot, and there was hardly a cloud in the sky, meaning Shikamaru couldn't enjoy his much beloved past time of lying down and gazing at clouds. It was also troublesome that his work revolved around Suna. Over the past year since Suna had betrayed her ally, Konoha and Suna had been working to rebuild their relationship.

Shikamaru had been appointed one of Konoha's liaisons to Suna. His duties included traveling to Suna for negotiations, and escorting Suna liaisons, usually Temari, around Konoha. After a long year of work the new alliance treaty was nearly done, there were only a couple of items they were still negotiating. That being said there was one major obstacle to the agreement being ratified, Suna had yet to appoint the 5th Kazekage.

A relatively recent Suna tradition required that a member of the Subaku clan, known as the Kazekage Clan, serve as Kazekage. However, due to a variety of factors, including the third shinobi war, the One-Tailed Raccoon Shikaku, and Orochimaru, there were only three living members of the clan, Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara, all of whom were still teenagers.

Everyone agreed that Kankuro was unfit for the position, including himself. The debate was between Gaara and Temari, and until the Suna Council and Wind Daimyo made up their mind a Jonin named Baki, who had been the three sand sibling's sensei, was serving as Interim Kazekage. The political instability meant that Konoha was hesitant to finalize any agreement, after all they didn't want to make a treaty only to have a new Kazekage come in and throw it out the metaphorical window.

This meant that, for the moment, Suna was without allies. There was a verbal agreement between Tsunade and Baki to help each other out in times of need, but Suna knew that didn't really mean anything. There was a feeling of unease around the village, and everyone hoped for a quick appointment of the next Kazekage, but the debate had dragged on for months.

Since being rehabilitated by Konoha and returning to Suna Gaara had worked tirelessly for the people of the village, and most of the village shinobi, and some of the civilians, had come to accept him and acknowledge him.

Some of the more conservative members of the village supported him solely because the believed a woman shouldn't serve as Kazekage, though the actual law preventing women from serving in the position had been repealed during Gaara's absence, as Suna had been unsure of if Konoha would ever return him or not. Furthermore Gaara wanted to be Kazekage, and was motivated to prove himself.

Unfortunately for him some of the more influential members of the council were opposed to having a "demon" as a kage. This sentiment was echoed by some of Suna's larger merchant guilds as well. Neither the Council nor the merchant guilds actually had much power in Suna when there was a Kazekage, but since there was no official Kazekage the council found itself as the main power in the village. The Interim Kazekage position was little more than a glorified head of the council.

The Wind Daimyo was not trusted in Suna after he had previously slashed their budgets and outsourced jobs to Konoha. That had been one reason so many Suna shinobi had gone along with the invasion of Konoha in the first place. So rather than making the decision himself he had opted to support whoever the council chose as a ploy to regain some favor with his nation's shinobi village. He had also held talks with Baki and all three surviving members of the Kazekage clan about employing more Suna shinobi, and a possible budgetary increase.

Temari had mixed feelings. On one hand the idea of being the first female Kazekage was incredibly appealing. On the other, as an older sister she wanted to see her youngest brother fulfill his dream. She had gone back and forth for months trying to make up her mind. Through it all her main focus was actually on trying to delay the appointment of the 5th Kazekage.

She knew that the new peace treaty included a clause that would put her into an arranged marriage with a yet to be determined Konoha shinobi regardless of who became Kazekage, and she wasn't ready to get married yet. As long as there wasn't a Kazekage she couldn't be forced into it, so as long as her former sensei continued to do good work as interim Kazekage she was more than happy to play the sexist traditionalists against those who hated her brother, locking the council in a never ending stalemate.

 _It's kind of fun, using them like this. I understand why Kankuro likes playing with puppets so much_ was a thought that had crossed her mind multiple times, but even so in the back of her mind she knew the deadlock wasn't in Suna's best interests, and felt a bit guilty about it.

- _Near the Kazekage's office, early afternoon-_

Temari was escorting Shikamaru to his hotel. She was 17, and he was 14. For most teenagers that would be considered too far apart in age for a relationship, yet despite that, and his incredibly lazy attitude, she had developed feelings for the Nara heir, and was trying to maneuver the council and the Hokage to set him up as her arranged husband regardless of the result of the Kazekage debate.

Shikamaru knew of Temari's behind the scenes actions, but he did his best to not get involved, even giving her advice could be considered Konoha trying to influence the appointment of the Kazekage. Also, he found the whole thing to be both 'troublesome' and 'a drag.'

He was a stereotypical Nara, lazy, intelligent, and naturally submissive to strong women. He couldn't deny he was attracted to Temari, but if he got dragged into the arranged marriage it would be troublesome no matter who ended up being Kazekage. Shikamaru's goal in life had always been to marry an average woman and have an average life with two average kids.

Temari was anything but 'average.' Strong, fierce, intelligent, powerful, Jonin before the age of 16, daughter of a Kage, possibly a future Kage (or sibling of a future Kage), life with her would be anything but average, the very definition of 'troublesome.' Thus Shikamaru was conflicted, his attraction to her or his trouble free future life.

The two had built up enough of a rapport that, in addition to being aware of the others feelings, they could openly discuss their unique, somewhat awkward situation without offending the other.

"It's too troublesome either way. If you end up becoming Kazekage and I have to marry you, I'll have to move here, give up my position as heir of the Nara Clan, and take your last name. That's not how it's supposed to work, the woman is supposed to take my last name. On the other hand if Gaara becomes Kazekage and we have to get married you'd come live with me. I'd get to keep my position and last name, but then I'd have to deal with you, my mom, Hokage-sama, and Ino all at the same time, it would be such a drag to have to deal with so many troublesome women at once."

"Oh, are we really that troublesome? Think about this Shikamaru, if you came here you wouldn't have to do anything. The Kazekage's spouse doesn't go on missions. You'd basically just serve as one of my advisors when I need to pick your brain."

"That's true, but it's not right for the Woman to be the breadwinner, also I'd have to be a stay at home dad, and that's not right either." "My, aren't we a bit sexist?"

"Blame my clan, Nara clan men are attracted to troublesome women, and complaining about said women is an official Nara past time, right up there with drinking, shogi, and cloud watching, which by the way is something I couldn't do here. Troublesome weather."

Temari knew that, when he wanted to, Shikamaru could bring a fire, passion, and motivation to just about anything, so she was usually willing to put up with the laziness and apathy that was his personality 90% of the time, she even found that 90% of his personality somewhat cute at times, but this was not one of those times. She snapped at him.

"I can't believe you! Which is going to be more troublesome Shikamaru!? Being a stay at home dad with minimal official responsibilities!? Or being a diplomat, clan head, father, and having so many women to deal with?! I can't believe how lazy Nara men are! How has your clan ever been able to find willing brides?" Shikamaru, sensing Temari's growing frustration, tried to calm her by slightly changing the subject.

"Troublesome woman, now you've given me something to think about. I need to think about the answer to that...I take it by how hard you're pushing this that you're actually considering becoming Kazekage?"

"Yes I am, but I'm not ready to allow the stalemate to end yet. I'm just finally getting to know Gaara, and I want my brothers and I to come together as a family before one of us has to become Kage, also I'm not ready to get married yet." "Why not, a lot of shinobi get married at 18, and you're 17. Not many of us live into our 20s."

"True, but I'm not ready yet, especially because the one I have feelings for is a lazy, slightly misogynistic 14 year old. If he's going to be a Kage's husband I'm going to have to train him how to behave first" she said with a smirk.

"Troublesome." came the response as he walked into his hotel. "Shikamaru." "Yeah?" he said as he stopped at the door." "You're taking me on a date tonight, be at my clan compound at 7:00." "Hn. Troublesome woman."

As Shikamaru walked into the hotel Temari saw the boy's smirk turn into a smile. When the door closed she headed back to her clan compound, she had a date to get ready for. Tonight she was going to start training the Nara heir on how to behave in the presence of a woman.

- _30 Minutes Later, Subaku Clan Compound-_

Temari was surprised to find not only Gaara and Kankuro, but also Baki waiting for her in the living room of the mansion she and her brothers lived in. "Gaara, Kankuro, Baki-sensei. What's going on?" "Sit down Temari, we need to discuss some things" came the response from her sensei.

"Temari, we know you've been playing the two sides of the Kazekage debate against each other. The longer we go without a Kazekage the weaker we look to the other villages and potential clients. What do you think you're doing?" said an obviously irritated Kankuro.

 _Well I guess they found out. It was bound to happen eventually, I couldn't keep stalling indefinitely "_ You're right, I know it makes us look weak and I was being selfish, I'm sorry" came a meek response from the normally strong kunoichi. "But why?" Baki pressed.

"There are three reasons why. #1, Kankuro and I are just finally getting to build a relationship with Gaara. Once either Gaara or I are inaugurated as Kazekage there won't be time for that anymore, after all that our father did it is important that Kankuro and I have a relationship with our little brother, that the three of us can be a family.

#2, Either way I'm going to be married off to someone from Konoha as part of the new alliance treaty. I know and accept that, but I'm not ready for it yet. If Gaara is Kazekage I will have to leave Suna, and I don't want that. If I become Kazekage there will be all sorts of pressure on me to start having kids right away to ensure the next generation of the clan, I'm not ready for that either.

#3, I'm conflicted. On one hand I want to be a good older sister and support my brother's aspirations to be Kazekage, but on the other hand I also want to be Kazekage. Back when Gaara was in Konoha as a hostage we didn't realize they were helping him sort out his issues. I thought I'd never see him again, so I realized that I would probably have to be Kazekage. I wasn't looking forward to it, but right around the time that Gaara came back I realized I actually wanted to be Kage, then I learned of Gaara's ambition and kept my own to myself. I've been stalling to make up my mind on what I should do... I'm sorry for being so selfish." As she finished speaking Temari hung her head in shame.

There was an awkward silence for what seemed like an eternity before Gaara finally spoke. "You have nothing to apologize for, Temari." Hearing his words brought back memories of how she had been forced to treat her little brother, how she had even been scared of him for so many years, and Temari lost control.

The flood gates opened and Temari started crying. Baki and Kankuro were both stunned. Gaara did something even more surprising, he stood up and crossed the room to the couch Temari was seated on, where he sat down and hugged his sister. Gaara's actions shocked Temari, and she whimpered out "Gaara...I'm so sorry for everything" before burying her self in her brother's embrace.

Gaara shot Kankuro a glare, and he got the message and joined his siblings in a group hug. _I never thought these three would ever be this close...I don't know exactly what Konoha did to Gaara but Suna owes them our unending loyalty for giving us this gift_ thought Baki as he took in the extremely rare touching moment amongst the Sand Siblings.

When the moment was over Gaara spoke again "I share your first two concerns, and I suspected your third. That's why Baki-sensei is here. He, Kankuro, and I have been working on a plan to solve all of this."

Temari quickly regained control and waited expectantly for this plan that she was now pinning all her hopes on. Gaara, never one to say more than necessary, looked to Kankuro, who began filling in Temari.

"It was all Gaara's idea, He just came to Baki-sensei and I to get our opinions, we didn't really do much." Temari's look clearly told him to cut to the chase, so he did.

"We will announce the 5th Kazekage within two weeks if this plan goes through, but Baki-sensei will continue as Interim Kazekage for another year or two, and one of his primary duties will be training the future Kazekage. Once the next Kazekage takes office Baki-sensei will move to a newly created position called 'Chief Consular' in which he will be the primary advisor of the Kazekage and will have some veto power over their actions. Baki-sensei will also sign a legally binding document which will force him to resign that position and return to his normal seat on the council once the 5th Kazekage turns 23. The other two members of our clan will serve as jonin-sensei during the time that Baki remains Interim Kazekage. Upon the 5th taking their office I'll join Baki-sensei as one of the Kazekage's top advisors and diplomats, while the other one will take over the position of Jonin commander. You won't have to get married until a month after the inauguration of the 5th Kazekage, and don't worry, we'll make sure you're married to that Nara boy you seem to like so much. Baki-sensei has also reached out to influential members of the council, and they've given it their blessing. This thing will break the deadlock."

Temari was genuinely impressed with the plan. Giving Baki some veto power for a few years pacified those who couldn't trust either a woman or a jinchuuriki. It gave her more time with Gaara, delayed her marriage for at least a year, if not two, and made sure that both she and Gaara would take more powerful positions than Suna usually gave to women or jinchuuriki.

She just had one question: "So who's gonna be the Kazekage?" Gaara looked her straight in the eye before saying in a soft but firm voice "You." The wisdom and selflessness her youngest brother had shown in not only coming up with the plan but giving up his own ambition for her sake once again caused the normally stoic kunoichi to lose control as she leapt across the room to envelop her brothers in yet another hug.

Baki wanted to let them have their moment, but he had things to do in order to make sure this plan worked. "I hate to interrupt your moment, but I need to know if you'll accept the position of Kazekage, Temari." "Yes, Baki-sensei." "Then I'll take my leave, I still have some more council members to meet with, and I need to inform Daimyo-sama. Please excuse me, Temari-sama" he said, making sure to use an honorific worthy of a kage. "Sensei, I don't want you to ever call any of us -sama. We owe you too much for that." came Temari's response as Baki left the mansion.

After Baki left the Sand Siblings sat and bonded for a few hours before Temari stood up to head to her room. "Excuse me boys, but I've got a date to prepare for, and I need to figure out how to break the news to him, after all we wouldn't want to 'trouble' a future member of our clan would we?"

"Well you could always wait until the council and Daimyo make it official" countered Kankuro. "Why don't you have Shikamaru-san join us for dinner tonight?" said Gaara "I've missed playing Shogi with him, and Kankuro need to get to know his future brother-in-law."

Temari remembered Gaara telling her about the shogi games and discussions Gaara and Shikamaru had while Gaara was a "guest" of Konoha, and simply nodded. _I guess if I have to be married to a lazy bum at least it's the lazy bum who helped me get my brother back_ she thought. _This is going to be an interesting night._

Gaara was also deep in though. _I once told Shikamaru-san that I would be Kazekage so that he and Temari could be together. Now she's becoming Kazekage and yet they will still be together. It seems that I'm not the only one who's changed in the past year, this village, and its people have changed too. As a jonin sensei I will protect my students, As jonin commander I will protect my village...I wonder if this is what Shikamaru-san meant when he was talking about protecting the king?_

-End Interlude-

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Next update should be back to the main story (but no promises, it might be the Sasuke-Orochimaru interlude I've written. Depends on how much time I get to write in the next couple of weeks.)

The Title is a reference to the old game show "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?"

As you can probably tell this was in someways a follow up to the 1st Interlude.

Thanks for reading!

-Col. Bogey


	17. Chapter 12: Chunin Exam Finals Part 3

-I don't own Naruto. Naruto was created by Kishimoto, please support the official release. Thanks for reading my first attempt at fan fiction-

 _Italics are thoughts. -Italics inside hyphens are the setting-_

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 _-The night of the Semi-Finals, Konoha's Hotel-_

The night before the final fight of the final round of the Chunin Exams proved to be a restless night for many, not just the Hokage. In Konoha's hotel Shino Aburame lay awake late into the night, his analytical and logic based mind running through possible strategies.

He had, of course, come up with a strategy for each possible opponent while he was back in Konoha, but for those he didn't have much information on, such as his next opponent, they had been very simple and basic. Now, having carefully observed his opponent's fights, he had spent the evening trying to come up with a strategy.

Try as he might though, he had been unable to, so now, long after he should have fallen asleep, sleep eluded him, his brain desperately trying to come up with some plan that might see him win the next day's fight.

 _Yotsuki-san's skills are good, but beatable, however he will be a very difficult opponent. That's because he has so much chakra, that's the real problem. Even if I used every single insect I have I don't think it would be enough to drain him of his chakra. My only choice would be to use the poison beetles, but I have no desire to kill the nephew of the head of a major clan. That's because, it would not be good for Konoha-Kumo relations._

He continued to be lost in his thoughts for several hours, but eventually the combination of physical exhaustion from the day's fights and mental exhaustion of racking his brain for a way to win the finals finally was enough to force the Aburame heir to succumb to slumber.

Elsewhere in the hotel Jiraya too found that sleep escaped his grasp. Hell the perverted Sanin, normally one to party on the night before such a big event, found that not even the siren song of the local hot springs offering a promotion of "Ladies Night" was appealing to him. His thoughts were elsewhere.

After returning to their Hotel Jiraya, Tsunade, Asuma, and Kakashi had further discussed what they had seen of "Z" Yotsuki. Hiashi had also remembered the other place he had seen such a chakra, the night of the 9 tails attack. Something was definitely up with the boy, but Kumo was known to have had Pseudo-Jinchuriki before.

 _The Sivler and Gold Brothers had been eaten by the 9 Tails and somehow survived, gaining some of its chakra once they escaped._ _Could a similar thing have happend to this boy? Perhaps Kumo has been experimenting and had the 2 or 8 Tails swallow him? Possible. Still, I don't think they use the son of a high ranking clan member for such an experiment, that would likely be something they use a war orphan for. Also, I just can't get over the feeling that he looks so much like Minato._

For Jirarya, sleep never claimed him that night, he thought about the mystery of the Yotsuki finalist's identity, and reminisced about his Hokage student until the sun arose.

Kakashi's thoughts were similar to Jiraya's, as Kakashi wondered if the boy really was his beloved Sensei's son. If this boy really was the same baby that Kakashi had failed to protect all those years ago. For Kakashi too, it was a sleepless night.

- _The Raikage's Office-_

A didn't even bother to try to sleep. He was too worried about Naruto. The conundrum he faced, either have the village be humiliated if Naruto lost, meaning that the host village failed to win, something almost unheard of. Or, have Naruto win but make it more likely that his secrets would be exposed, was going to keep the Raikage up all night.

Instead, after completing his necessary duties as the host of the Exams, he went back to his office. He was met there by his Spy Master, Dodai, and the head of his Anbu, codename "X". Konoha was up to something, both Dodai and X had people keeping a close eye on the Konoha delegation, and something was suspicious.

The Two Sanin, the son of the Third Hokage, and the famous Copy Ninja all seemed to have something up their sleeve, and were acting strangely. Could it be that they suspected Naruto was actually a Jinchuuriki? That he was actually the son of the 4th Hokage? A had been worried when some of the 9 Tails' chakra had escaped during Naruto's fight with Sakura, every chunin level or higher shinobi in the arena felt it.

The official reason given, a secret technique used to dispel genjutsu, was of course a lie, and a bad one at that. It was only a matter of time until Konoha came to the correct conclusion. A made a tough decision. He switched his efforts from doing everything to try to hide the boy's identity to preparing for what he now considered the inevitable. Not that he was going to publicly announce Naruto's name, status, and heritage.

No, he still needed to slow down Konoha, to buy Kumo time, but most of his planning and scheming went towards contingency plans. Though he didn't want to, he would go to war to keep Naruto in the village if he had to.

Relations between Konoha and Kumo were...tenuous at best. It was true that A and Tsunade were in discussions to cooperate on mutual threats, such as Orochimaru and the Ataksuki, but there was little trust between the two villages. They had been major belligerents on opposite sides in the 1st and 3rd Shinobi World Wars, and it was Kumo's Kinkaku force that had killed the 2nd Hokage during the 1st war.

Kumo had sat out the 2nd War, which was mostly a four way contest between Iwa, Suna, Konoha, and surprisingly, Ame. Still, bad blood had been formed during those other two wars, and the villages, while not as openly antagonistic as Iwa and Konoha were with each other, weren't necessarily friendly.

Kidnapping not only a jinchuuriki but the only child of a Kage was an obvious Casus Belli for Konoha. True if Konoha declared war they would likely loose. They hadn't yet fully recovered from Orochimaru's invasion, and their ally, Suna had yet to recover from that same incident, or even publicly declare a new Kazekage. Though his spies in Suna did tell Dodai that it seemed like some sort of agreement on who would be the Kage had been reached.

On the other hand, Kumo was currently the strongest of the Villages, and while Iwa wasn't a reliable ally, their blind hatred of Konoha and strong disdain for Suna meant they would likely be reliable as long as Kumo was going against those two forces. Still, the war would be costly, in terms of both money and man power, and A didn't necessarily think a war was in his village's best interest. What to do?

- _The Yotsuki Clan Compound-_

Naruto was one of the few people wrapped up in this affair to actual get a good night's sleep, thanks in large part to his ignorance to what was going on behind the scenes. Of course he was nervous about Konoha possibly finding out his secrets, and was mad at himself for letting out the Kyuubi chakra, but his focus was more on the fight.

One thing his mother had always ingrained into him as a little kid was that sleep was important for shinobi, even if they didn't get it that often when out on missions. A few hours' rest could be the difference between life and death. So Naruto slept.

His parents on the other hand, found sleep difficult to come by. Much like the Raikage they were worried that Konoha was onto them, though this was more based on paranoia and a parent's natural concern for their child than hard evidence. While neither had been major combatants in the 3rd Shinobi War they had fought in it, and both had killed a couple of Konoha Shinobi. Konoha had no reason to be friendly or merciful to them. If the worst came to be, and Konoha took back their son, the boy who had saved their marriage, would they ever see him again?

These were the thoughts that kept Koshiro and Sora up that night. And so it was, that as the sun began to rise on the morning of the Chunin Exam finals, many a worried mind, partially or fully deprived of sleep, set about their day. Whatever the outcome, everyone could tell that something was going to happen. Many just hoped that the fight would be the only eventful thing.

- _The Next Morning, Konoha's Hotel-_

As the sun slowly rose in the sky Tsunade was awoken by the sound of a key unlocking her Hotel room's door. Having only had a couple of hours of sleep it took her a few seconds to register what was happening. This was a key that not even the Hokage Guard Platoon had. A key that only Tsunade and one other person had... _Shizune!_ with that thought Tsunade sat up to find herself staring into the ragged and tired looking face of her first apprentice.

"Shizune! Where have you been? I've been worried sick about you!" "I'm sorry, Tsunade-sama. Right as I finished examining Sakura there was a flurry of activity, as medics started to prepare the patients for transport to the hospital for observation, then a cleaning crew came in and deep cleaned the medical ward, all the time guarded by Kumo Anbu. I had no choice but to hide and wait for them to finish before I escaped."

Again, the lack of sleep meant that Tsunade's mind was probably not as sharp as it should have been this morning. "Well, that sounds like they run a very sanitary operation, that's good...WAIT! Your Mission?" Shizune smiled and held up a storage scroll. "Mission Accomplished Tsunade-sama."

"Excellent, good work Shizune. I hate to do this to you, but I need you to take what you found back to Konoha. Take an hour to rest and then head out, once you get out of Kumo don't stop running until you've exited the Land of Lighting. If anyone asks why you're leaving just make up some excuse. When you get back tell the research team this is part of Project Z, and tell them to make it their top priority." "Understood, Tsunade-sama."

- _That Afternoon, Kumo's Stadium-_

Kumo's Stadium was a flurry of action. The Second day featured several exhibition matches, including an absolutely fantastic fight between two world renowned masters of Taijutsu, Might Gai and Master Asia.

After the fight Rock Lee, while fighting back tears, described it as "the single most youthful spar I have ever seen in my life." The fight was won by Gai, just barely, and he had to open 6 of the 8 gates to do so. Gai then gracefully pointed out that if he had fought Asia in his prime the tables would have certainly been turned, before flashing one of his patented "nice guy" grins.

Just as Lee had been moved by the fight Asia's students had also been moved, Domon especially. The boy who was so consumed by hatred, upon seeing his beloved sensei, the man he revered, lose the fight, began to think that maybe he was approaching combat the wrong way.

The crowd gave the two fighters a lengthy standing ovation, acknowledging these two experts who communicated through their fists. Even the three Kage felt the need to stand and acknowledge the spectacle they had just witnessed. Still, even with this absolutely incredible fight, amongst other exhibitions, as the afternoon wore on the atmosphere became more and more intense. Everyone was merely waiting for the final fight of the day.

Finally, it was time for the main event. After all that waiting, and the exhibition fights, it was finally time. Naruto was pumped. He sat in the Green Room inhaling a bowl of Ramen and impatiently looking at the clock. _Just 15 more minutes, this is gonna be awesome! Raikage-oji-sama will have no choice but to promote me if I win!_

Shino, on the other hand, barely moved a muscle. He had been sitting in the same spot, meditating, since 11am, still wrapped up in thought trying to find a last minute strategy. Some hidden weakness he could exploit in order to win. _Maybe if I use Genjutsu? No, that won't work. That's because he's a member of the Yotsuki Clan, and they are known for their Genjutsu. He's likely better at it than I am._

Of course, this was not the case. Naruto's use of Genjutsu was only possible because his father and Uncle had been able to modify some of the most basic of the clan's genjutu, allowing him to use them at ten times the normal chakra they required. He was actually terrible with Genjutsu. He was unable to detect them, much less break them, but Shino, nor anyone in Konoha, nor even most people in Kumo knew that.

It was in fact, the single biggest thing planting doubt in the minds of people like Jiraya, Asuma, and Kakashi. Jinchuurki had way too much chakra to be able to use Genjutsu, yet here this boy was able to use it. Obviously he had a lot of chakra, but he still had enough control for genjutsu, so maybe he wasn't a Jinchuuriki? Maybe he was just some kid who somehow won the genetic lottery and had Kage level chakra reserves? With these thoughts in the minds of those of who were suspicious the Konoha delegation settled into their seats as Darui entered the arena and called out the two finalists.

- _The Kage Box_ -

As Tsunade sat down she was amused to find that, having taken her frustrations out on her chair the day before, the new chair was made of a solid steel frame, which appeared to be reinforced. _Doesn't matter, if I wanted to I could shatter this as well_ , she smirked.

Her mind then reviewed an incident that had happened only minutes before. When Tsunade had gone to place a bet she was surprised to find Onoiki standing in front of her. The stubborn old man had avoided directly speaking to her the day before, going so far as to address his statements and questions to the Raikage, even when they were clearly meant for her.

This time he actually spoke to her, clearly pained and full of distaste at having to speak to someone from Konoha, expressing his gratitude to Tenten, who had saved his granddaughter's life in the second round. He then handed Tsunade a small box and asked her to pass it along to the young weapons specialist Kunoichi. Then he walked off to take his seat. It was easily the strangest interaction, and most awkward experience she ever had with another Kage, but at least the stubborn old man knew when to show gratitude.

As she reclined in her chair, she opened the box. Inside was a small medal, and two letters, one from the Tsuchikage, and one from the girl who's life Tenten had saved. She chuckled when, while she was reading Onoiki's letter to Tenten , she came across the line "Rest assured that when my shinobi destroy Konoha your life will be spared and you shall be installed as the head of a new puppet state in the Land of Fire." She assumed the diminutive old man was joking, but with his stubbornness and pure hatred of Konoha she couldn't be sure. Deciding to give it no more thought she turned her attention to the arena.

- _The Arena Floor-_

The crowd had given Shino a polite round of applause when he entered the arena, after all they respected the boy for making the final. When Naruto entered though, the overwhelmingly Kumo crowd roared with approval. Just from that welcome alone Naruto felt adrenaline surging through him, not that he needed another reason to get excited for this fight, he was a finalist after all. _Stay Calm, Naruto, the only way this guy can beat you is if you loose your focus._

He gave a smile and a confident wave to the crowd before facing Darui. Naruto was unable to get a read on Shino, who just stood there stoically and silently, his large coat and his sunglasses preventing Naruto from reading his body language. The two opponents were directed to bow to each other in a show of sportsmanship, and they did.

"I'm so excited, let's give the crowd a good fight, Shino-san." stated the exuberant Yotsuki. "Indeed, Yotsuki-san, I think today's fight will be memorable. That's because, we're both motivated to win."

Finally, Darui stepped forward one last time, and loudly proclaimed: "The Final Fight of the Final Round of these Chunin Exams. From Konoha: Shino Aburame! From Kumo: Z Yotsuki!" He took a brief pause to allow the wild applause and cheers that sprang up when he called Naruto's name to die down, before nodding to each of the combatants and continuing: "The same rules as yesterday. Ready? Begin!"

Naruto, confident in his abilities, charged forward. He made two shadow clones, and the three of them attempted to engage Shino in close range combat. The two shadow clones used Taijutsu to try to create and opening, while the original stood by with his katana, ready to strike.

Unfortunately for him Shino had prepared for such as possibility, and the Aburame, while not winning the Taijutsu battle, was holding his own and not giving Naruto any openings.

As the flurry of punches and kicks dragged on, one of the Naruto clones left himself vulnerable, only to be engulfed in a storm of insects. They gorged themselves on the shadow clone's chakra, until the the clone lacked any chakra and dispelled.

The other shadow clone stopped and looked on in horror, engrossed in what he saw. Shino could have simply dispelled the clone with a quick punch or kick, but instead he took advantage of the situation, and a second storm of insects swarmed out of the Aburame to consume this clone as well.

The original Naruto jumped back a couple meters, putting some distance between himself and his opponent. _Damnit! I should've expected that!_ "I gotta say, Aburame-san, that was pretty cool, but there's no way you can win this fight." "Until a few minutes ago I agreed with that assessment, Yotsuki-san, but no more. That's because I remembered a particular quirk about shadow clones."

"Oh, and what is that?" "Shadow Clones evenly distribute a user's chakra. You see, Yotsuki-san, you have a lot of chakra, most likely too much for my insects to eat at once. However, when you create a shadow clone you evenly divide your chakra. So when you created 2 shadow clones you divided your chakra into three, with each of you containing 1/3 of your chakra. My insects were able to eat all of that chakra before your clones dissipated, each swarm ate 1/3 of your chakra, or in total 2/3rds of your chakra."

"That's true, but even so 1/3 of my chakra is several times greater than your chakra reserves at full strength, so I don't see how that helps." "You see, Yotsuki-san, my insects don't digest chakra very quickly. It's true that they are full, and likely will be for several hours, so they can't eat more of your chakra right now. However, in addition to eating chakra they can also infuse it into something, as they did with Hyuga-san yesterday. So throughout this fight they will be injecting me with your chakra, effectively giving my not only my own chakra reserves, but 2/3 of yours as well."

 _What? Really? That's Incredible! Mental Note: Never underestimate one of these bug guys again. Still, it's not the end of the world, I can still win, and I will win, I just can't use anymore clones. Really the moment that the bugs touched my clones I should have dispelled them, would have prevented this situation._ _He's lucky I'm completely suppressing the Kyuubi Chakra. His bugs probably wouldn't be able to eat such ominous and dark chakra, plus there's just so much of it._ "I gotta admit Shino-san, that's pretty clever. Usually my strategy in something like this is to turn it into a battle of attrition and outlast my opponent, but I guess I'll have to go for a knockout instead."

Again Naruto charged forward with his Katana drawn. He deflected a few shuriken and kunai that had been thrown by his opponent, and in a few seconds he was swinging his blade, trying to connect. Shino however proved quite adept at reading Naruto's movements, and was able to either dodge or block (using a Kunai) most of Naruto's blows.

For Shino, it helped that Naruto's normal kenjutsu style was very defensive, and most of his offensive moves were simple swipes and lunges designed to force the enemy to back up. He wasn't the artful Kenjutsu specialist that some of his other classmates, like Karui and Ran were, and he certainly was no where near the same level as his sensei.

So, unable to simply wear down and outlast his opponent, and forced to take the offensive, unable to use the shadow clones that were the basis of most of his creative techniques, Naruto's attacks were somewhat lacking.

The close range battle continued for a few minutes. Shino always able to read Naruto's offensive movements, but unable to get past Naruto's own incredibly defensive Kenjutsu style. Even if Shino was using an actual sword he would have been unable to break such a strong defense. As this evenly matched exchange reached into its fifth minute Naruto finally thought he saw an opening, and lunged forward again, only to be forced back as Shino used the Earth Style: Mud Wall technique, putting an end to that part of the battle.

- _The Kage Box-_

Jiraya stood behind Tsunade and watched the fight with great interest. Like Tsunade, Jiraya had been skeptical when he was told that Asuma and Kakashi were suspicious of a Kumo genin named "Z" Yotsuki.

When He first saw the boy he had no reason to believe "Z" was related to his prized student. Sure he was blond, but so were a lot of people in Kumo, and his hair wasn't spiky. His eyes were also the wrong color. Surely this couldn't be the child of the 4th? But Jiraya did find him interesting, and paid careful attention to the boy.

The more he saw, the more he started to believe that Asuma and Kakashi were onto something. _He has the impulsiveness and fire of Kushina's personality, but also shows flashes of the calm, calculating, and caring personality of Minato. Personality wise it's almost as if the two of them have been fused together. Sure the eyes and hair are wrong, but for all we know he cut his hair and is wearing contacts._

In the semi-finals Naruto's release accidental and brief release of the Kyubi's chakra had all but convinced Jiraya, and now, watching the fight, he found himself rooting against the boy from his own village, and for the boy he now believed to be his Godson.

 _Come on "Z" if you are who I think you are I know you'll be able to do it! Then, after this, I hope we get the chance to talk. I failed you back then, but damnit I'm your Godfather, and I want to be a part of your life! I just hope Kumo hasn't brainwashed you and turned you into a weapon like Danzo wanted too. They have a reputation for treating Jinchuuriki better than most villages, but for all we know that's just an act._

- _The Yotsuki Clan Box-_

Inside the Clan Box most of the clan members, and their invited guests, such as the rest of team 2, cheered Naruto on behind the privacy seals. Karui, Hikari, and B were among the loudest, only pausing to drink water to moisten their throats, which were becoming hoarse from all of the cheering. In one corner of the room stood Naruto's Parents and Uncle, silently cheering the boy on. A had gone to see them that morning, and told them that he believed that Konoha suspected, but could not prove, Naruto's identity.

The three had put on happy, exuberant, and proud faces around their Son/Nephew that morning, but when he wasn't looking their faces were awash with concern. Now, they watched the fight in solemn silence, torn between wanting him to win, and worried about his future. A had told them that the village was preparing counter measures, and was prepared to go war to keep Naruto, and that certainly reassured them, though of course they hated the idea of another war.

He had told them a few of the contingency plans the village was putting in place, but he also recommended the clan put some in place as well. Gennai was confident that every member of the clan would be willing to go to war to defend his nephew, after all even though he wasn't Yotsuki by blood he was still Yotsuki, one of their own. Still, even as he watched his nephew fight, full of pride as an uncle and as head of Naruto's clan, he couldn't help but be worried, and his brain was working double time trying to find a way to help his beloved nephew.

- _The Arena Floor-_

After Shino used the mud wall to force Naruto to back up Shino moved quickly to take the advantage. While better than most members of his clan in close quarters combat he was still much more comfortable with long range fighting, and so, flush with more chakra than he had ever possessed before, he fired off a long range ninjutsu.

 _Horse, Dog, Bird, Ox, Snake_ "Doton: Earth Dragon Jutsu!" A mass of dirt, soil, small stones, and etc. rose up from the arena floor and headed towards Naruto, taking the shape of a dragon as it raced towards him.

As Naruto dodged the dragon he also heard "Doton: Earth Bullet" and found several projectiles made of the same material as the dragon heading towards him. He blocked a few, but ultimately the sheer number of projectiles overwhelmed him, and several managed to hit their target, knocking Naruto backwards and into the wall of the arena.

As the dust cleared Naruto slowly got to his feet, he had taken some damage, but wasn't about to quit anytime soon. "I see you're putting my Chakra to good use, Shino-san." "Indeed, Yotsuki-san. That's because, I've never felt like this before. This much chakra is absolutely extraordinary."

"Earth Style huh? Not that common in Konoha from what I understand." "More so than you might think, Yotsuki-san. That's because, it is actually fairly common in the Aburame Clan, we just never have enough Chakra to focus on it. And yourself? Kumo is known for Lightning, and yet all I've seen you use in your previous fights is wind. Very rare, even in the Land of Wind."

"Oh don't worry, Raiton is such a focus here that I know a couple of lightning techniques, it's impossible to graduate from the Kumo academy without them, no matter what your actual affinity is."

Naruto once again drew his Katana and charged at Shino, this time making an obvious show of channeling his Wind Chakra through said blade. Again Shino began firing a volley of long range earth style techniques at Naruto, but this time he was able to block or evade all of them and make forward progress.

When he got about halfway to his opponent Shino quickly changed tactics, running through a series of hand signs as he instructed his insects to give him more of the chakra they had absorbed from the clones. Shino quickly made the Ram hand sign before slamming his hand down on the ground. "Ninja Art: Antlion Jutsu."

The ground in front of Naruto opened up, and soon he found himself sliding down a steep slope towards a hole in the ground. Try as he might he was unable to stop his downward descent and fell into the whole, only for the ground to go back to a normal, flat, surface, leaving Naruto several feet under.

Luckily for Naruto he had taken a big breath before being submerged, and was quite capable of holding his breath. There was also a very small air pocket, so he had enough air for a couple minutes. _He's clearly trying to avoid killing me, leaving me with any air, no matter how little. This is gonna come back to bite him later. I guess I should prepare one of those academy lighting jutsu I told him about earlier._

Though Naruto was a wind user, and thus lighting techniques were much more difficult for him to learn Kumo was probably the most homogenous of the 5 great villages in terms of chakra nature. Kumo was in the land of lightning, and almost all the Shinobi had either a primary or secondary affiliation for lighting style techniques, unlike the other villages.

Sure, Fire style was the most common in Konoha, but only around 50% of Konoha Shinobi actually had a fire affinity. In Kumo the percentage of shinobi with a lightning affinity was closer to 90%. As such the academy required some lighting ability in order to graduate, so Naruto had struggled long and hard to learn them.

Eventually he had been able to do it, though at a much greater chakra cost than normal, not that it was normally a problem for the Jinchuuriki, though this fight was different. This time he actually needed to pay attention to his chakra level.

He was taking a big gamble, but since it had a type advantage against his earth style opponent he was willing to take the risk. As he forced his body to create lighting chakra he knew that this was likely going to win or lose the fight for him.

Back above ground Shino watched as a massive gust of wind came out of the ground, forcing it to split apart, and allowing his opponent to climb back to the surface. Once again the boy drew a Katana and charged Shino, it was getting predictable at this point.

Again Shino fired off a variety of projectiles. Kunai, Shuriken, and Earth style projectiles. Again the boy was able to use swordsmanship and agility to block or dodge all the attacks. This time Naruto made it all the way to Shino, and stabbed him through with the Katana, careful to avoid any vital spots. Naruto had developed a great respect for his opponent and didn't want to kill him if he could avoid it. He was so sure of his victory, and was shocked when the Shino he just stabbed dissolved into a mass of insects, and insect clone.

He barely had anytime to react before he felt a sharp pain. The real Shino was behind him, and had stabbed him with a Kunai in almost the same spot, one that shouldn't be fatal but would definitely end the fight. "So you saw that coming, huh?" "Indeed, Yotsuki-san, you are a strong shinobi, easily chunnin level, but a bit too predictable." "That's where you're wrong though." said Naruto with a grin as he made a hand sign.

To Shino's surprise this time it was Naruto that dissolved, or rather, exploded in a mass of lighting chakra, a lightning clone. Shino tried to dodge the lighting, but a hand burst out from the ground underneath him and held him in place as his body was electrocuted, and blackened by lightning burns. Shino fell to the ground as Naruto climbed out of the hole in the ground.

Before Shino fell unconscious he heard: "That was a hell of a fight, Shino-san, I hope we can fight on the same side some day."

The crowd burst into a deafening roar as "Z" was declared the winner of the tournament by Darui. Naruto briefly acknowledged the crowd before turning to help the medics put his defeated and unconscious opponent on a stretcher.

He then turned his attention back to the audience before crying out "Yes! I Did It! I'm the Best! Z Yotsuki, Future Raikage! Believe It!" After a couple minutes of soaking in the approval of the audience a squad of Kumo Anbu jumped down to the arena floor and escorted him back into the contestant waiting area.

- _The Kage Box-_

Tsunade was at a loss for words. On one hand, while Shino had lost he had put up an incredible display. The mission of reminding Iwa and Kumo that Konoha was still strong was a success. On the other hand, while she had no proof, she, like Jiraya, was absolutely convinced that Z was in fact her long lost godson.

 _I was pretty sure before, but seeing his reaction to winning...The compassion of Minato in helping his opponent. The exuberance of Kushina, hell even the dream of being a Kage that they both shared...Naruto...it's really you. After all these years. Now we just need proof and we can try to bring you home._ She was pulled out of her thoughts by A.

"Your Aburame Clan heir is truly something, Hokage-dono. He'll make a truly fine clan head some day. I recommend him for Chunin, it's clear he's already one in everything but title." "I don't like it, but I agree, Raikage-dono, truly an impressive individual." added Onoiki.

"Yes, Shino is a bit awkward, but he's truly a special shinobi and he has a good heart. I heard he even made a couple of friends from outside the village in the second round, Raikage-dono. I've seen more than enough to say he deserves Promotion. To be honest, from the reports I've read, the only reason he wasn't promoted after our last Chunin Exams was he didn't actually get to fight in the finals. Sarutobi-sensei thought he was deserving, but his first round opponent forfeit, and after that the invasion happened so he never got a second fight. I also recommend that Yotsuki boy for promotion. Shino proved that "Z" is maybe a bit over-reliant on his clones and his 'I have more Chakra than you and am going to outlast you' strategy, but he showed the ability to change strategies and adapt. I think he's also already at Chunin level." The other two Kage nodded in agreement. _Naruto, I'm so proud of you, enjoy this while you can, because things are about to get a whole lot more complicated,_ thought A.

A few minutes later, as the stadium emptied around them, the Kage stood to leave. "It seems that for the first time in as long as I can remember all of the finalists have been recommended for promotion, though of course it is only a recommendation" stated A, adding in the last bit as he realized Tsunade had no intention of promoting at least one of Konoha's finalists.

"Truly an outstanding group of finalists this time around. I'll be heading back to my hotel now. I'll be resting my back tonight and then heading back to Iwa tomorrow. I'll see you there for the finals of the next meeting of our alliance's chunin exams, Raikage-Dono." Onoiki didn't even acknowledge Tsunade as he floated out of the room followed by his entourage.

Once he was gone Tsunade put her plan in motion. "Raikage-dono, I really must get back to Konoha, and will be leaving immediately, though I'll be leaving behind a couple of Shinobi until all of my village's finalists have been released from the hospital. That being said I'd like to meet again to continue discussing our potential cooperation against common enemies. Can we meet again in say...one month's time?"

"That is fine, does the Land of Iron work as an acceptable meeting place for you?" "I think so, it does tend to serve as a good meeting place since they stay neutral." "Excellent, I'll set it up with Mifune-dono and have my office send the details to Konoha, safe travels, Hokage-dono." "I look forward to it, Raikage-dono." _And assuming the DNA comes back how I think it will we'll be having a very frank discussion about why my godson is in your village as well, A-san._

- _20 Minutes Later-_

The Anbu had escorted Naruto to a tunnel, and walked him through it, on the other side he was met by yet another Anbu, though this one wearing a rank plate marking him as a high ranking member of the organization.

"Congratulations on your win, Naruto-san. Don't worry, all of these men here knows your secret. You're now in the Raikage Tower, and in a few minutes your friends, family, Raikage-sama, Daimyo-sama, and a few other VIPs will have a party here to celebrate your victory and the glory you have brought to Kumogakure and the Land of Lighting. However, Raikage-sama wanted me to inform you that he strongly suspects that Konoha is onto your true identity. He and the Hokage will be meeting in the Land of Iron in one month, and he suspects she will make some accusations there. Raikage-sama and your Clan are going to be putting some contingency plans in place to keep you safe, and Raikage-sama wants you to know he will do everything in his power to protect you. For now enjoy your victory, but also begin to steel yourself for what is to come. Congratulations again, Yotsuki-san."

"Thank You, X-sama." Came the response from the now downtrodden Naruto. "I'm sorry to spoil the moment for you, Yotsuki-san, but it was important that you know. Also, everyone at the party is expecting you to be your normal exuberant self, so at least try to smile."

- _1 Hour Later-_

Naruto's victory party was a lavish affair. Staff members in the Raikage building had been preparing for it all day in case Naruto ended up winning. It was attended by just about every important person in the nation, along with all the members of the Yotsuki Clan, the Cloud 9, and their sensei.

Just about everyone had stopped to chat with the man of the hour, and Naruto was enjoying the attention, but he was also concerned about his future. _Maybe I shouldn't have won, maybe that would have prevented Konoha from finding out... Nah, I can't let this get me down, after all, if I can't survive a diplomatic crisis how can I ever hope to be Raikage?"_

As the party went on Naruto's mood gradually kept improving, until finally, A got everyone's attention. "Based on the recommendation of the judges, and my own observations, I am pleased to promote two fine Kumo Shinobi to chunin. Karui, and her teammate, the man of the hour himself, Z Yotsuki!" Naruto was practically tackled into a hug by Karui, and when the two teammates went forward and received their blue and white Kumo vests from A, marking them as official Chunin.

Naruto gave a huge grin. _I'll get through this, with the help of my friends and my clan, I'll never let Konoha get their hands on me! Believe it!_

-End of Chapter-

* * *

Reminder: Naruto has been changing his appearance, specifically hair style and eye color, to try to not look like a mini-Minato in the presence of so many Konoha shinobi.

Keep in mind that Shino didn't drain any of Kurama's chakra, Naruto's been suppressing it. So when Shino says he drained 2/3rds of Naruto's chakra that doesn't include 9 tails chakra. He wouldn't even be able to make a slight dent in Naruto's reserves had he been using that.

Well there you go, the Chunin Exams are over. Naruto and Karui are promoted (Karui's promotion came off of the Prelim fight and the 1st round fight, no so much the Semi-final fight). This won't be covered in anything but Kurotsuchi gets promoted. Konoha's promotions will be discussed in a later update. I really wanted to make Shino win, really I did. He's my favorite character, and it was so tempting, but I couldn't, the plot wouldn't allow it. I did go out of my way to probably make him a bit more powerful than he actually is, but the dude deserves some attention. He was set up to be powerful at the beginning of part 1 and then just fell by the wayside. He, Tenten, and Kiba all got shafted in Part 2. Granted I was never a huge Kiba fan, but I always thought Tenten was intriguing, and my thoughts on Shino should be clear at this point. When the main story returns we'll see if Shizune was able to get definitive proof of Naruto's identity, and how Konoha will react to that news, which ever way it goes.

X returns here for the first time in a while. I went back and read those first few Preludes/Chapters that he last appeared in, and I gotta say I'm really pleased with how my story telling has improved since then (at least in my opinion). Not to say that it's perfect, or even good, but it's getting better. Thanks to those of you who have been with me since Day 1!

With finals over and Winter Break upon me I hope to get a bit of writing done. I learned a lot about not only the time commitments and work load in this Masters Program, but also writing a story like this, something I've never done before. I'm hoping I can apply what I've learned to be better at doing most of my writing during the breaks and early in the semester before all the papers and stuff role around, creating a backlog of ready to go chapters and Interludes that I can slowly release during the ever crazy 2nd half of the semester. We'll see how it goes this spring.

I've been sitting on this Sasuke-Orochimaru interlude for a while, and this is probably the 4th or 5th time that I've teased that it's coming up, so you'll definitely see it in my next update. That will be followed by chapter 13, then the final of these 3 interludes I've had ready to go since October, then Ch. 14. (After the interlude between 13 and 14 there won't be any more interludes for a few chapters, I've just had this backlog of them I need to get through, and timeline wise it makes more sense to use them now)

Question: Do you prefer the flashbacks that were used in the last chapter, or the way that Tsunade and Onoiki's situation was handled in this chapter? Not saying that I'm going to use either regularly (though I might), just trying to figure out what everyone's preference is.

Thanks for reading!

\- Col. Bogey


	18. Interlude: The Snake and the Sharingan

-I don't own Naruto. Naruto was created by Kishimoto, please support the official release. Thanks for reading my first attempt at fan fiction-

 _Italics are thoughts, or information on the setting. It should be fairly obvious which is which_

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Here it is, the long promised Sasuke-Orochimaru Interlude. While I'm not anti-Uchiha I do find Sasuke to be really annoying, and he never really fit into my plans for this story. Still, he's a major enough character that I feel that I have to address what happens to him. Combine that with the fact that I was always curious about the plot hole of Orochimaru wanting the Sharingan, but there are only a few left and he can only stay in one body for so long. This is a possible explanation.

Fair Warning, this interlude may be disturbing to some readers. That being said I don't think there is anything that warrants the rating to be different from the rest of the story (T). It's not gory or sexual or anything, Orochimaru's plans for the Uchiha are just a little bit disturbing. Logical from someone like Orochimaru, but slightly disturbing none the less.

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When Sasuke had first joined Otogakure, eager for the power to destroy his brother, Orochimaru had been ecstatic and had devoted a great deal of time to training his future vessel.

The young Uchiha, consumed by his hatred of his brother, and having severed all of his ties in Konoha by killing one of his teammates as he left, progressed quickly. Orochimaru was simply counting the days until he could take over Sasuke's body.

After a month or so, he realized a major flaw in his plan. Orochimaru had hoped to have a Sharingan for the rest of his quasi-immortal life, however he was only able to inhabit a body for 3 years at most. Sasuke was one of the last two Uchiha, and Itachi had proven to not only be out of his reach, but Orochimaru also had reason to believe the elder Uchiha was terminally ill. Itachi would die soon, and Sasuke's body could only last for so long. Once he was done with Sasuke the Sharingan would be gone for all time, this was a problem.

Thinking quickly Orochimaru had modified his plans. The snake Sanin was a devious individual who had no moral qualms, and he set about putting a somewhat disturbing plan in motion to ensure he would have access to the Sharingan for all time. He continued to train Sasuke, but it was not as tenaciously as before, and instead he focused on mentally breaking the boy.

Despite the stoic public persona Sasuke was actually both mentally and emotionally very fragile. The public personality of a cold and indifferent teenage boy that had won him so many fan girls in Konoha was nothing more than a cover for the emotional pain he still felt at having lost his parents, and knowing he had to kill the one person he had looked up to more than any other.

His emotional instability meant that it was easy for someone as crafty, intelligent, devious, and sadistic as Orochimaru to break him, and after a few of months of mental torture and brainwashing Sasuke had been reduced to nothing more than a loyal, devoted slave of the snake Sanin.

- _Around the Same Time as the Chunin Exams, at one of Orochimaru's hideouts.-_

Otogakure was not a real village, but rather a series of bases and hideouts spread throughout the Shinobi World, though the biggest concentration of bases, including the largest and most important ones, were in the Land of Sound, formerly known as the Land of Rice Fields. Orochimaru had near total control over over the small naition, as the Daimyo was nothing more than a puppet-regime under his authority.

His organization also had several bases in the Land of Water, politically unstable as it was due to the Civil War between the Mizukage and a group of bloodline holding rebels. Orochimaru regularly kidnapped bloodline holding Kiri Shinobi to experiment on them. He also had at least one hideout in every nation in the region, and while he had his headquarters in the Land of Sound he never spent too much time at any one base.

Orochimaru, Kabuto, and Sasuke were entering a medium sized base about half a day away from Orochimaru's main base of operations in the Land of Sound. Orochimaru and Kabuto were dressed normally, but Sasuke was wearing the standard apparel of an Oto chunin, complete with the sound headband. After his demotion from Orochimaru's apprentice to normal Sound chunin he had been forced to change his attire, as only Orochimaru's top subordinates and some of his experiments were allowed to wear whatever they pleased.

The old Sasuke would have protested, too prideful to wear anything marking him as just an ordinary shinobi. The new, obedient Sasuke was more than happy to do whatever Orochimaru told him. As the three entered the the base they were met by a girl around Sasuke's age with red hair and glasses. That girl was Karin Uzumaki. Like Sasuke she was just a young teenager, but her mind had won Orochimaru's respect, and after she deserted from Kusagakure he had quickly recruited her into his organization, where the Uzumaki girl became one of his top researchers and scientists.

"Welcome to your new home Sasuke-kun." hissed the leader of Oto. "What is my mission here, Orochimaru-sama?" enquired the Uchiha. "You have two missions here, both of which I think you'll enjoy. They are both essential to my long term plans." "I live to serve you, Orochimaru-sama, whatever you wish of me it shall be done." _He's almost as devoted to me as Kimimaro was, I'm so glad I changed my plans pertaining to him, I like having him as my servant much better than as my apprentice_ , thought the Sanin _His personality was always so...irritating, it's much better now. More...obedient, less...annoying._

Orochimaru turned away from the boy and towards the interior of the base. "This research facility houses some of my female experiments, and all the guards, caretakers, and other Oto personnel here are female. Your first mission is to use them to revive the Uchiha clan. As you know I wish to have sharingan in my vessels for the rest of my life, and to do that I need a large, loyal, and stable Uchiha clan to draw from to use as vessels and to transplant eyes from. I also wish to do some experimenting on the sharingan. Your decedents will thus serve as vessels, experiments, and soldiers for me."

Sasuke had been so thoroughly broken and mentally brainwashed that he didn't even bat an eyelash at what he heard. "While I am saddened to hear that you no longer consider me worthy of serving as your vessel I will obey your every command Orochimaru-sama. I will reform the Uchiha clan into the most loyal and most obedient of your servants." He bowed deeply, before asking: "You said that was my first mission, do you have another second mission for me?"

"Your 2nd mission involves Karin-chan here." said Orochimaru while gesturing to the red head who had welcomed them to the compound. "Karin-chan is one of my top scientists, and like you is one of the last surviving members of a clan. She is a member of the Uzumaki clan, known for their red-hair, mastery of Fuinjutsu, high chakra reserves, and longer than average life span. As such I want to revive the Uzumaki clan as well, though for different reasons, which I'll allow Kabuto to explain."

Orochimaru's apprentice and second in command cleared his throat before speaking. "Orochimaru-sama wishes to have the Uzumaki clan as the elite of his future army, his personal ANBU. As of now Orochimaru-sama has placed Karin-san in charge of this facility, and wishes for her to take you as her husband. The children you have with her will be Uzumaki, not Uchiha. Unlike the Uchiha, who will be trained from birth to be slaves to Orochimaru-sama's will, the Uzumaki will simply be loyal to him as any clan is loyal to their village. As I mentioned they will be trained to be his personal ANBU, the ultimate instruments of his will. The Uzumaki children will stay here and you will raise them as a family, the Uchiha children will be sent to another facility to be raised to serve their owner and master however he sees fit."

Karin looked slightly appalled at what she heard, but Sasuke showed no emotion, simply bowing to his master and saying "Your obedient servant shall obey your orders, Orochimaru-sama, the Uchiha Clan is at your disposal." Orochimaru smiled as he reached into a pocket and pulled out two wedding rings. "I already had the Daimyo personally sign a marriage certificate, so you two are officially married as of yesterday. Because Karin-chan is one of my top subordinates and you are merely my servant I expect you to obey her commands as if they were my own, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke bowed to Orochimaru before turning to face his new wife, he then bowed and said "I await your orders, Karin-sama." Karin, still shocked at what was happening, silently took the rings and placed them on her and Sasuke's fingers.

Orochimaru also turned towards his lead scientist and said "Because you are useful to me as a researcher I don't want you to have so many children that you are unable to continue your duties in that area. Since I'm immortal I can also afford to be patient with the revival of the Uzumaki clan, and I want it to be done right, so I think three, maybe four children will suffice, no more. As a wedding present I give you this facility to use as your new clan compound, though I will require you to keep the current guards and inhabitants here for now so that your new husband can work on his other mission, which I am going to have you oversee. I chose this base because it has three wings, a prison, a laboratory, and an isolated and secluded suite, essentially a fully functioning house, including its own private kitchen and private access to the outside world. I think it should have enough space for you and your future children, and it is removed enough from the other parts of the base that screams from the prisoners and experiments shouldn't reach you. I've taken the liberty of having your personal effects moved there, and your research notes will arrive in this base's laboratory tomorrow."

Karin had a slightly dumbfounded look on her face as Orochimaru and Kabuto turned to leave. As they reached the stairs back to the surface Orochimaru turned and called out "Karin-chan, not counting yourself there are 200 women in this facility, I expect your new Uchiha servant to get all of them pregnant within a few years. And yes, I did say *your* servant, he is no longer any use to me other than as a breeder, so as long as he breeds I give him to you, wether you keep him as your slave or actually try to make a husband out of him is entirely up to you."

As he reached the top of the stair the Sanin added: "Oh, you're 14, so take a few years to focus on your research and adapt to your new home before you worry about having children. You are very useful to me, and I want to make sure you are comfortable and healthy before you worry about being a mother. Once you turn 18 I'll expect an invitation to a baby shower within the year. Congratulations again on your wedding and promotion. I expect results, Karin-chan... Come Kabuto-kun, we must get back to the hideout and prepare for tomorrow." "Of course, Orochimaru-sama. What are we going to do tomorrow?" "The same thing we do every day, Kabuto-kun...Make plans for the destruction of Konoha!" And just like that the Snake Sanin and his second in command disappeared into the forest.

Karin stood, unmoving, with her jaw on the floor, for several hours after Orochimaru had left. She was still trying to take in and process all that happened. Orochimaru had put so much effort into gaining Sasuke, and less than a year later he had essentially discarded the Uchiha, who was now her servant/husband. She had been promoted, yet again.

She had been with Oto less than a year, and was now already one of Orochimaru's most trusted and highest ranking underlings. This latest promotion, and the fact that she was now a clan head, meant that she could go to almost any Oto base and be the highest ranking person in the facility. Unless of course Orochimaru, Kabuto, or someone else from Orochimaru's inner circle was there.

She had no prior knowledge of this plan. She had received orders two days earlier telling her to pack her things and be at this facility, but that wasn't unusual in Orochimaru's underground, highly mobile organization. She had only arrived at the compound a half hour before Orochimaru, Kabuto, and Sasuke had. Now she was married, in charge of one of Orochimaru's larger and more important research facilities, and had to supervise her new husband's job of getting all the other women in the facility pregnant in order to ensure that Orochimaru would perpetually have access to the Sharingan, something he valued more than just about anything...no pressure.

Finally, as her mind began to clear, she thought: _This could be worse, Sasuke-kun is hot, and thanks to Orochimaru-sama he's really obedient. I have four years before I have to worry about kids, and I'll get to keep and raise my children. Orochimaru-sama is going to value and promote the Uzumaki clan. I'm just glad he's so obsessed with the sharingan and pure blooded Uchiha, or he'd probably have decided to make the Uchiha-Uzumaki hybrids his future vessels._ As Karin began to move again she noticed that Sasuke was kneeling before her with his head bowed, and realized that in the several hours she had been standing there he had also stayed in that exact same position for the entire time.

Noticing his wife was beginning to move Sasuke spoke "Orochimaru-sama has said that I belong to you know, how may I serve you, Karin-sama?" Karin thought for a few moments, before a smile appeared on her face. "I'm glad to see you know your place. While you may legally be my husband you'll have to earn my affection, for now you are nothing more than my personal servant. In addition to your Uchiha mission I expect you to cook my meals and keep our living quarters clean. Now let's go find our quarters so you can unpack my things for me and then make dinner. After that I'll have a guard set up a cell in the prison wing for you to get started on your mission." "As you command, Karin-sama" said Sasuke, and with that the newly weds disappeared deeper into the base.

- _6 Months Later-_

"How are you adapting to your new life and role in Orochimaru-sama's organization, Karin-chan?" asked Kabuto. "Things are going well, Kabuto-senpai. Would you like some tea?" Kabuto and Karin were sitting in Karin's office in the laboratory wing of the "Uzumaki Compound." Reaching over to her desk Karin picked up a bell, and rang it. Almost immediately Sasuke silently entered the room and kneeled before her desk." "Bring us some tea, Sasuke." "Of course, Karin-sama."

Kabuto smiled as Sasuke left the room. "I see you've decided to keep him as more of a servant than a husband, Karin-chan?" "I'll admit that he is very attractive, but I'm 15. At this point in time he is more useful to me as a servant than he is as an emotional or romantic companion, Kabuto-senpai. I do admit I'm starting to get some feelings for him, and in another year or two I may start to view him more romantically. Not now though." She paused to put away some notes that were on her desk before continuing: "He is extremely obedient, and very loyal and dedicated to me. He doesn't like it when other people are disrespectful to me, he once killed a prisoner solely because she glared at me. Orochimaru-sama did an amazing job of breaking his mind."

Kabuto grinned. "He did, didn't he? The Uchiha clan were once one of the most arrogant clans in the whole world, it is amusing to see how low one of last members of the clan has fallen. How goes his mission?"

"I'm no medical-nin, Kabuto-senpai, so I'd appreciate it if you confirm my suspicions, but I am a sensor type, and based on what I sense I'd say he's gotten approximately 20 women pregnant. Maybe half of those are visibly starting to show it, but I sense additional chakra signatures from the others. The guards, my lab assistants, other staff members, heck even most of the prisoners are only too willing to offer their reproductive systems for Orochimaru-sama's cause. I had to put a halt on him sleeping with the staff though, I was concerned all of my staff would be on maternity leave at the same time, which would slow down my research for Orochimaru-sama and compromise the security of this facility."

Sasuke returned and placed two cups of tea on the desk before bowing and exiting. Kabuto took a sip of his before saying: "I'd be more than happy to use medical ninjutsu to confirm your findings, Karin-chan, but if what you say is true I think Orochimaru-sama will be very pleased. He'll also be very pleased that you set up a plan to prevent Sasuke-kun's mission from interfering with the overall operations of this facility. That shows he was right to promote you. I'll ask him to send over some Genin to act as guards so that mass maternity leave won't hinder your operations here." "Thank you, Kabuto-senpai, please follow me to the medical wing so you can start examining my staff and prisoners."

- _A Few Hours Later-_

"You were correct, Karin-chan. 10 staff members, a mix of prison guards and lab assistants, as well as 10 prisoners are pregnant. Most are in there first trimester, but 5 are in their second, all prisoners. To be honest, I think 20 Uchiha children are about as many as the facility they will be going to can handle for now, so you can order him to put his mission on hold."

"Oh, right, they are going to a different facility. How is that going to work?" "Once a pregnant woman enters her 2nd Trimester she'll be sent to the new facility, now that I've confirmed 5 are that far along someone will come for them next week. Prisoners will stay there after they have given birth and will be offered limited freedom to help raise the children to be unquestionably loyal to Orochimaru-sama from birth. Even the least obedient of them should be just as obedient as their father is. Orochimaru-sama wishes for the most obedient to be willing to literally kill each other in order to serve as his vessel or donate an eye to him. Your pregnant staff members will be given a couple of weeks to recover after giving birth before they will leave their children behind and return here to work. And no, they won't have to repeat the process. Once they've given birth to an Uchiha their part in the revival and remaking of the Uchiha clan is over. Once all the prisoners have been permanently transferred to the new Uchiha facility the prison portion of this facility will be converted into a new dormitory for your staff and some guards, that will allow the 'Uzumaki Compound' portion of this facility to expand by annexing the current dormitory, effectively doubling the clan's space. Once your retire from research all the staff will leave, and their dormitory and the lab will also be turned over to the clan, giving the Uzumaki free reign of the compound, but Orochimaru-sama values your work and hopes that won't happen until a couple more generations of Uzumaki are running around here."

Karin nodded her understanding. She had adapted to her new life, but still had some moral qualms about the fate of the Uchiha. "This is all pretty heartless, huh Kabuto-senpai?" "Please, Karin-chan. The vast majority of the people of Oto are nothing but Orochimaru-sama's property and tools, or they owe him their life and won't disobey him. He will do with them whatever he wishes. Only those of us like you and me, that show we are talented, intelligent, and competent, get to have the illusion of freedom. We are his most valuable tools, so we are given better treatment and more liberties, but we remain his tools, nothing more than instruments of his will, just like the rest of them." Kabuto paused to take a look around the prison portion of the facility, and to check the time. "Now, it's late, I must be getting back to Orochimaru-sama. As I said someone will come for the 5 prisoners next week, and I'll be back every 2 weeks to do medical checks on the pregnant women. See you then, Karin-chan."

Karin started to head back to the laboratory portion of the base, but spied a clock and saw that it was indeed late, and that the lab would already be shut down for the night, so she went to the 'clan compound' portion of the facility instead. As she walked through the door to what was considered her 'house' she saw Sasuke kneeling by the door, head bowed, he had presumably been like this since he had finished his chores. "Welcome home, Karin-sama. I have completed all of the tasks you gave me, is there anything you need?" "Just get started on dinner, Sasuke." "As you command, Karin-sama."

As Sasuke left Karin sat in a chair and picked up her mail. Oto's spread out nature mandated some sort of mail system for communication, and the utmost care was taken to prevent this necessity from becoming a weakness that gave away base locations. She noticed one envelope was from the Daimyo's office. _About time, this was supposed to be here months ago. The Land of Sound's bureaucracy is so slow_ , she thought. She opened it to find the wedding certificate that Orochimaru had informed her the Daimyo had signed.

As she looked over it she couldn't help but chuckle, _Orochimaru-sama really did renounce his claims on Sasuke and give him to me no strings attached._ The reason she thought that? A line in the document which read "Mrs. Karin Uzumaki and Mr. Sasuke Uzumaki." While his children with the prisoners and staff would keep his Clan name, Sasuke himself had been given Karin's name. She couldn't help but smile at that. Kabuto's talk had helped her get over her moral dilemma about the Uchiha, and now she had evidence that Sasuke truly did belong to her. It was a good day.

-End Interlude-

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There you have it. I'm not saying this won't impact the story later, in fact I think Orochimaru would make a very compelling villain for this story, but for now this is nothing more than a way of writing off a very popular character that I'm not super interested in and would have struggled to fit into the story. Again, is it a bit messed up? Yeah, but could I totally see Orochimaru doing something like this? Also, yes. Perhaps I over emphasized how messed up it was, but that was out of concern for the people who would find it quite disturbing, you know there are some out there.

I always thought that it was strange that Orochimaru, a quasi-immortal being, would be satisfied of having three years of an Uchiha host and then lose the ability to have a Sharingan forever. Combine that with his willingness to treat humans like livestock (essentially sacrificing the team he sent to the chunin exams in Konoha) and his enjoyment of using emotional trauma to damage or break people (Using edo tensei to reincarnate the 3rd Hokage's sensei [and the 1st Hokage as well] during the chunin exams is a prime example) and this is a possible solution to that plot hole. Granted, this is probably not the biggest plot hole in the series, but it's one that I've always found odd.

Timeline Clarification:  
Both this interlude and the next (last for now) interlude set something up, and then come back several months later to check in again. This does not impact the timeline of the main story however. The first part of this Interlude was set during the Chunin Exam Finals. The interlude ended half a year later. The next main chapter will start two weeks after the Chunin Exams, so any time passing in the Interludes does not make time pass in the main story. Confusing? Probably, sorry about that. They all do exist in the same Timeline, just this interlude and the next jump back and forth in said timeline. Once I get these interludes published and the focus goes exclusively back to the main story for a while the timeline will calm down.

Hey I made a Pinky & The Brain Reference again, is it a bit forced? Yeah, but I wanted to do it. Shout out to the User "Angel's Twin Husband" for planting the idea of doing another reference from this show in my head.

We are now over 100 followers on this story, so thanks to you all!

Thanks for reading, the main story will be back in its normal format next time. Thanks for your patience with the interludes.

\- Col. Bogey


	19. Chapter 13: Kage Conference

-I don't own Naruto. Naruto was created by Kishimoto, please support the official release. Thanks for reading my first attempt at fan fiction-

 _Italics are thoughts. -Italics inside hyphens are the setting-_

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- _Two Weeks after the Chunin Exam Finals, in the Hokage's Office Building-_

Tsunade opened the door to the Konoha Council chambers. On the outside she looked calm and collected, a rare moment where she actually had the dignified and rarefied air of a Hokage, as opposed to her normal loud, angry, and often drunken demeanor. To a passerby it would appear she was on her way to an important meeting as if nothing was wrong, but underneath her exterior was a fierce maelstrom of emotions. This was no ordinary council meeting.

As if to emphasize that point the room was on lockdown, surrounded by ANBU that Tsunade was 100% certain were loyal to her, not Danzo. The minute the door closed behind her dozens of brand new Fuinjutsu seals, fresh from Jiraya's pen, activated, completely cutting the room off from any attempts to spy or eavesdrop. Inside the chamber, looking back at her as she took her seat, were only a small few members of the council. Tsunade didn't trust most of the council members, and this meeting had to be top secret. Only the members she absolutely trusted were invited.

Jiraya was of course there, her long time teammate was one of her closest advisors, in addition to being the village spy master. Shizune was also there. While she technically wasn't a Senju Tsunade thought of her as a daughter of sorts.

As the last Senju, Tsunade should have technically held the clan seat on the council, but she was unable to fill the seat clan seat since she was Hokage, so Tsunade had bent the rules. She had adopted Shizune into the Senju clan, and given her the seat on the council. Danzo and the other elders had protested, but the idea of having a young woman join and possibly revive Konoha's most famous clan was too much. The council had enthusiastically and, aside from Danzo and his companions, unanimously approved idea and council members had been trying to set her up with a number of different men ever since, much to her chagrin.

Even if she didn't have the possibity of passing on Senju DNA just having the name Senju around Konoha again would be a powerful propaganda tool for the village, so the civilian council members considered getting her married and pregnant to be a top priority. Since she had changed her last name to Senju it seemed that every council meeting devolved into the civilian members wasting time and energy listing off the names of every single male jonin in Konoha, as well as the names of many of the up and coming single merchants, hoping to start the process of reviving the clan.

In addition to her teammate and apprentice the other council members present were Shikaku Nara, Choza Akimichi, Inoichi Yamanaka, Shibi Aburame, Asuma Sarutobi, and Tsume Inuzuka. Tsunade trusted these clan heads, and felt that they and their clans were absolutely loyal to both her and Konoha. Notably absent were figures such Danzo Shimura and the other elders, along with Hiashi Hyuga. She viewed Danzo and the other elders as her political opponents within the village, as they most symbolized the faction strongly opposed to her sensei's teachings and the Will of Fire. She mostly trusted Hiashi, but she had absolutely no confidence in the Hyuga Clan elders, and didn't want to take any chances. There was also no way she was inviting any civilians to the meeting, Shinobi affairs were none of their business.

Tsunade looked around the room, making eye contact with each council member present, before she took a deep breath and started to speak. "Before we begin you should know that what you are about to hear is top secret. I've just had fresh privacy seals installed on this room, and handpicked the ANBU that are guarding the room, so we can speak freely. Not even the other council members are to know what I'm about to tell you. Everything discussed in here is to be considered a Double S class secret, while the fact that we are meeting at all is an S class secret. In fact I have ANBU impersonating all of us right now so that we have plausible deniability that this meeting ever took place. Now then, let's get started. First, you need some background information. For that, I've asked a former ANBU member to speak to you all, please, Dog."

An ANBU wearing a Dog Mask stood to address the assembled councilors. Since Konoha ANBU masks don't hide one's hair everyone could tell that it was Kakashi Hatake. "Dog" retold the story of Naruto, how the baby had been hated, and many had tried to kill him. How Kakashi had tried to adopt the boy, but his petition had been rejected. How Kakashi felt that he was the only person in the whole village who didn't hate the boy, and how he longed to be able to reveal who Naruto's parents were, surely then the village would see him as the hero he was.

Kakashi told them how, when he wasn't on shift other ANBU would wait until the very last second to stop assassination attempts, often causing the baby to experience a great deal of unnecessary pain. Then, one day, while he wasn't on shift, Naruto had been abducted from Konoha, the people who abducted him had never been found. The head of the orphanage, most likely aware that the adoption/abduction was highly illegal, had fled, and their dead body had been found several months later. There had been no clues. The civilians rejoiced at the death of the "demon". The shinobi were annoyed at the loss of the village's ultimate weapon, but not broken up about it, and all had assumed the boy had been dead, until recently.

"For the record, Hatake-san, you were not the only one to try to adopt the boy. The Aburame clan were also rejected in our bid to adopt him. Why did we try to adopt him you ask? That's because while we aren't hated by the village, we are shunned and feared by the civillians, and even some shinobi, because of what we have inside of us, and that made us sympathetic to the boy's plight. I would have loved for Uzumaki-san to grow up with my Shino as his brother, but that's besides the point, why bring this up now?"

Tsunade took out a file and pulled out a report. "Because this report proves without a doubt that "Z" Yotsuki, recent winner of the Chunin Exams, is in fact Naruto Uzumaki, Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune and son of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki." The room sat in stunned silence for a few minutes. Of course Jiaraya, Asuma, and Kakashi had been part of the group that had been suspicious of Naruto, but still, to have it confirmed, it was a lot to take in. Finally, it was the spiky haired, brilliant, Jonin Commander and head of the Nara Clan, Shikaku Nara, who spoke up, but even one of the most intelligent men in the history of the village seemed at a loss for words. "How? How do we know this? How did Naruto end up in Kumo?"

"I'll address your first two questions." stated Jiraya. "During the first two rounds of the Chunin exams Kakashi and Asuma took an interest in the boy. While he didn't look exactly like Minato, grey eyes for example, his appearance and personality seemed to remind them of Minato and Kushina enough that they took an interest in him. During the finals 'Z' as he goes by in Kumo, released a burst of chakra to break out of a genjutsu, and Hiashi identified it as being the chakra of a tailed beast. Shizune took some samples from the girl he fought's injuries, and our research team ran a DNA test. That test concluded that 'Z' is Minato and Kushina's child, beyond reasonable doubt. As for how he got to Kumo... we don't know. It's possible they were the ones who abducted him, or it's possible that the people who abducted him died and he some how ended up in Kumo's orphanage and was adopted. We also don't know how much of his background they know."

"Does it really matter wether they were involved or not? Our jinchuuriki is in Kumo now, and by all accounts very loyal to them. They have 3 ultimate weapons and we have none. Of course, I don't mean to say that the pup's only purpose is to be a weapon, I have nothing against Jinchuuriki, like the Aburame my clan was sympathetic to his plight, though we never went so far as to try to adopt him. The point is that this is a disaster for our village. Kumo was already stronger than us, at least until we could fully recover from our losses, but now this? This is unacceptable!" came a fiery response from the Inazuka Clan Matriarch.

"It absolutely matters if they know or not. Why you ask? Because that will impact our response. If they knowingly took him that is a much more hostile action than if he just ended up in Kumo and unknowingly was adopted by the Yotsuki Clan." spoke the Aburame head in calm, measured tones, but it was clear to the other council members that even he was shaken by what he had learned.

"And preparing our response is what I called you all here for. I'm meeting with the Raikage in two week's time in the Land of Iron. While not the stated reason for the meeting I'm hoping to bring this up and catch him off guard. I'm asking for all of your advice because I trust that you non only have the village's best interests in your hearts, but don't hate Naruto or view him as just a weapon. I'll have you know Jiraya and I are his god parents, and we won't take kindly to such things being said about him."

Asuma hesitantly spoke up. "Forgive me, Hokage-sama. But if he is your godson why didn't you or Jiraya ever come back for him? That would have prevented all of this in the first place. My father absolutely would have allowed one of you to take him with you. He cared a great deal about the boy. The full council tended to prevent him from doing more for him, but after he died I read his journal. He was hoping one of you would show up. He was going to have you sneak Naruto out of the village and keep him with you until the boy was old enough to fend for himself."

Both Jiraya and Tsunade hung their heads in shame. Not returning to Konoha for Naruto's birth was one of Tsunade's greatest regrets in life. _If only I had kept my promise and come back, perhaps you both would still be alive and I could focus on spoiling my godson. I failed you, Kushina._ Jiraya had been in the village during the 9 Tails attack, and afterwards had been in such a great amount of grief about losing his prize student that he couldn't even bear to look at his godson. _Naruto, I was so caught up in grief over your father, and even then you looked so much like him. I couldn't look at you without being consumed by despair. Minato, Naruto, I'm so sorry, I completely and utterly failed you both._

None of the clan heads in attendance dared disturb the awkward silence, they could tell how much pain the two Sanin were in. Finally, it was Tsunade who broke the silence. "Shizune told me we should go back to Konoha, I ignored her. Afterwards she told me we should go get Naruto, again I ignored her. I'll have to live with that burden for the rest of my life, but damnit I want the opportunity to try to make amends."

"What are you going to do, Tsunade-sama?" came the question from the Akimichi head. "Even if Kumo is unaware of his status, once they find out he is a jinchuuriki they are unlikely to just give him up without a fight. A fight which I don't think we can win." "I actually have a plan there." Jiraya seemed somewhat excited, and all turned to him to listen.

"Hear me out here. Naruto is the Nephew of the Clan Head. He's not the heir, but he is high ranking. Cousins and younger siblings of heirs and heiresses are often used for arranged marriages. Tsunade and A are in talks to try to forge some ties between our villages. What if we threw in a marriage proposal. Offer something to them and in exchange Naruto is married into one of our clans. If indeed they don't know anything about his background they'll think it's a steal since they won't actually be giving up anyone who possesses a Kekkai Genkai."

The idea was enthusiastically recieved by some in attendance at the meeting, and even prompted Asuma to joke "You're just trying to pass your perversions on to your godson, eh Jiraya-sama?" Choza then chimed in "Perhaps he's hoping to base a book on this."

Jiraya, trying to avoid getting Tsunade angry, steered the conversation back on course. "There are only a couple of clans for which this could work. They Hyuga have an heiress, but they don't marry outside the clan. The civilians would probably try to arrange him to marry into Senju, but I think we can all agree he's too young for Shizune." he got some chuckles from the others in attendance, while Shizune was unsure wether to blush or be angry about it being implied that she was old.

As the laughter stopped Jiraya continued "Aburame, Akimichi, and Nara all have male heirs, and Sarutobi currently has no heir. That means it all comes down to setting the boy up with either Hana the Inuzuka heiress or Ino the Yamanaka heiress." There were mutters of agreement, and Inoichi and Tsume suddenly found themselves being stared down by Jiraya, Shizune, Tsunade, Choza, and Asuma, prodding them to see if either would be willing to put their daughters into such an arrangement.

It was at this point that Shibi Aburame spoke up again. "Let's not get too ahead of ourselves. Why you ask? Because it is also possible that Kumo is fully aware of Namikaze-san's heritage. If that is the case than they are unlikely to fall for this ploy so easily."

"I agree with Aburame-dono." chimed in Shikaku Nara. "There is no reason to believe that Kumo would go for this, and even if they did what would you do then? Let's say we end up with Naruto Yamanaka or Naruto Inuzuka, are you just going to say 'oh by the way you're really the Yondaime Hokage's son disregard everyone who was ever cared for you in Kumo.' By all accounts the boy is quite happy there and very loyal to Kumo, do you really think you could turn his allegiance so easily just because he'll be in a quite possibly loveless marriage?"

With the two men generally considered to be amongst the most intelligent in the village poking holes in their plan every one else agreed to set aside the idea of an arranged marriage, though the heads of the Inuzuka and Yamanaka clans, who both liked the idea of adding the Yondaime's son and Uzumaki DNA to their clan, were unwilling to fully throw away the issue.

The partial council took a short break for food, and Tsunade took leave, she had other business to take care of that day, she was Hokage after all. Many realized it was going to be a very long meeting, one that would likely end up going all night, so after the break they settled in, minus the Hokage, to discuss what they would advise her to do."

- _At the Same Time: Iwagakure, the Tsuchikage's Office building-_

Onoiki floated behind podium in front of a mass of assembled jonin, tobuketsu jonin, and ANBU. The room was buzzing, as it was time for the annual release of the latest edition of the village Bingo Book. Each year the book was updated with new information, or removing shinobi that were no longer a problem.

Like most villages Iwa's Bingo Book was divided into multiple sections. There was a section on shiniobi actively wanted by Iwa, a section with all bounties throughout the ninja world, with Iwa based commentary on wether or not to pursue specific bounties added, and a section on those for whom there was no bounty, but whom the village considered worthy of note.

Onoiki had already made it through most of the updates to the book, and had just one more update to review with his forces. "Flip to the advisory section of the book. Again, for those of you who are new to being Jonin these shinobi aren't wanted, no bounty, don't try to apprehend them, we just want you to be aware of them. We have one new entrant from the results of the Chunin Exam."

Onoiki paused for a moment, as his forces flipped to the appropriate section of the book. "Our last new addition is 'Z' Yotsuki of Kumo, recent winner of the Chunin Exam. Again, he is from an allied village and personally helped to save my Granddaughter's life in the second round, so don't go trying to kill him...yet. You can see all of his info there in the book, he's a highly impressive individual, and you should all be aware of him. He may be from a village we are allied with, but he is young, and we may not be allied to Kumo forever."

Off to the side, Iwa's two jinchuuriki stood somewhat isolated from the rest of the shinobi force. Han, the larger of the two, muttered in a barely audible voice: "I have a bad feeling about this." Roshi simply nodded. They were unsure why they felt such unease, but they couldn't deny it was there.

- _Kumogakure, the Raikage's Office-_

Naruto, his parents, and his uncle stepped into A's office, all uneasy about being summoned. They had all known for two weeks that Kumo suspected Konoha was aware of Naruto's true identity, but had tried to go about their lives as normal. Naruto and Karui had, for now, been left on their same team, and Naruto had put all of his focus into training and spending time with his closest friends and family, unsure of what his future held. His parents too had tried to be strong for their son, but Naruto knew that his mother cried herself to sleep most nights, while his father too was suffering emotional breakdowns because of the stress.

A looked up from his paperwork to see the Yotsuki's enter, and quickly motioned for them to sit, before returning to his paperwork. "I'll be with you in just a moment, we're still waiting on a couple of people to show up anyways." Within 5 minutes Dodai and X had joined them in the office, and A had finished whatever it was that he was working on, so the meeting began.

"As you know we suspect Konoha is aware of Naruto's identity, and for the last two weeks Dodai, X, and I have put in a lot of time and effort trying to predict what they are going to do. Prior to the exams Konoha had approached us with the idea of the two strongest villages cooperating on a wide range of common interests, including the Akatsuki, a group of super criminals that have taken an interest in the Tailed Beasts. We had some preliminary discussion about cooperation, but nothing more. Two weeks from now Tsunade and I are meeting in the Land of Iron to try to work out the details. I expect you'll be brought up at some point as well, Naruto. We think they will probably demand that we turn you over to them."

Naruto was a brave, excitable, rambunctious young shinobi, but the thought of being forced to return to the village that tried to kill him so many times truly terrified the boy. His head dropped, as he stared at the floor and let despair consume him. He barely noticed his mother scooting her chair closer to his, wrapping her arms around him, and pulling him in to a comforting hug. She however, could also barely contain her fear, and as she tried to be strong for her son tears rolled down her face.

The room was silent as they watched the embrace. Koshiro stood and walked over, placing a reassuring hand on both his son and his wife's shoulders, but even he was shaken, this was not unexpected, but still disturbing for the family.

After a couple silent minutes watching his brother, sister-in-law, and nephew, Gennai Yotsuki finally spoke up. "What are you going to do about this, Raikage-sama? When my brother and his wife took Naruto in you promised them the full support of the village." "And our full support they will have, it is in the village's best interest, Naruto is a jinchuuriki after all." came the calm, measured response of X.

"Jinchuuriki or not Naruto is one of our own, and almost everyone in the village has taken a liking to the boy, we can't simply let him waltz back to Konoha just because a weaker village demands it." Dodai added, trying to add a human element to X's cold but accurate rationale.

"I'm placing the village on high alert, and banning all non residents of Kumo except for allied shinobi on official business and fellow citizens of the Land of Lighting. I've also ordered our logistical divisions to begin accumulating the supplies necessary for war, though I've ordered them to be discreet as possible. I'm willing to order a war, but I'd like to avoid one if possible. Don't worry Naruto, I won't let them take you without a fight. Konoha forfeited any claim they have on you with how they treated you." A's voice, normally stern, was soft and comforting as he spoke, and his words made Naruto and his parents feel slightly more reassured.

Seeing their morale was somewhat improved, A snapped back to his normal tone. "Now then, the best thing we can do right now is get you out of Kumo until this blows over. If Konoha can't find you they can't take you. Chunin Yotsuki, I'm ordering you to the Genbu, you'll leave tomorrow, and continue to train there under Yugito and my brother. The three of you are to stay there until further ordered."

"What about my teammates?" Naruto asked. "I'm disbanding your team. Two of you are chunin now, and it isn't worth keeping you around just for Omoi, he's a talented shinobi and is likely to earn a field promotion soon. I can't tell you what my orders for them are, but rest assured they'll be fine. Take today to say your goodbyes, you may not be back for a while."

"Understood, Raikage-oji-sama." "And stop that, I tolerated the oji while you were an academy student and a genin, but you're a chunin now, have some professional courtesy!" As the Yotsuki's turned to leave A spoke up one more time. "Naruto, don't worry, I won't let them take you." Naruto nodded, touched by A's words during the meeting "I know, and thanks, Raikage-sama."

-3 _Days before the Konoha-Kumo Summit-_

Tsunade and her escort headed north through the land of fire until they reached the border. Another day's travel and they would be in the Land of Iron, Samurai Country. Because they stayed out of Shinobi politics and had a culture distinct from the rest of the region the Land of Iron was an excellent neutral ground for non allied Shinobi nations to meet, however since they were wary of Shinobi they tended to charge an arm and a leg to allow them to use Samurai facilities, not that Tsunade particularly cared at the moment.

The people she had sought advice from had failed to reach a consensus. On one hand Konoha needed its jinchuuriki back, on the other hand Kumo was currently more powerful than Konoha. A war was not likely to end well, and Konoha needed help if it was ever going to end the threat of Orochimaru.

Eventually the clan heads had settled on a compromise, and advised Tsunade to revisit the idea of trying to gain Naruto by marriage. Both Inoichi and Tsume had jumped at the prospect of strengthening their clan by adding the Yondaime's son to it, and the Tsunade had burst into laughter when Inoichi used his clan jutsu to take control of Tsume's body and sign a document giving the Yamanaka the first right to try to get the boy.

Tsunade had took the idea of a political marriage to the whole Konoha council, where, unaware of just what Tsunade and most of the clan heads were planning, it was wholeheartedly endorsed. If this plan failed, however her advisors had been unsure of what to do next.

Jiraya, Tsume, and Inoichi all advocated for war if the marriage plan failed. Shizune, Choza, and Asuma all advocated for putting the matter to rest until Orochimaru and the other threats the two villages faced were dealt with, hopefully during that time the ties between the two villages would grow and a peaceful resolution could be found.

Shikaku had abstained from giving his opinion, outwardly he declared the whole affair "troublesome" but inwardly Tsunade could tell that he was conflicted. Shibi too seemed conflicted, and had abstained as well. While not as vocal in their support as the Sarutobi Clan or Kakashi had been the Aburame had been staunch supporters of Naruto when he was a baby, and Tsunade could tell that this issue was more than a bit personal for the silent and stoic Aburame Clan head.

When Naruto and Shino fought in the chunin exam finals it had been Shibi's own son against a boy he had tried to adopt and had hoped to make a second son. While he hadn't known that at the time, the realization had a profound impact on him, and after the first meeting to discuss Naruto, where he had occasionally spoken up, he had largely been silent in the subsequent meetings. With her advisors in a deadlock Tsunade wasn't quite sure how she was going to react, but she headed forward anyways, determined to earn her godson's forgiveness.

- _The Land of Lighting, Heading West towards the border_

A was confident, but grim as he made his way towards the fateful meeting. His entourage was small. Dodai accompanied him as an advisor, while X, Darui, and C made up his bodyguard. What they may have lacked in size they made up for in confidence. They hoped, of course, that Knonoha only wanted to peacefully discuss cooperation against common enemies, but they were prepared.

Ever since the day before the Chunin Exams started, when Naruto reported that two Konoha-nin had spoken to him while in a restaurant, Dodai's spies in the Leaf Village had been working overtime. They had assembled a great deal of information that Kumo's spy master and his top lieutenants had sifted through, and for the past month he and the Raikage had put that intel to good use. If Naruto was brought up Kumo was prepared to go to war, but A and his companions were supremely confident that they had just enough intel and dirt to convince the notoriously stubborn Hokage that would be a bad idea.

- _Mifune's Palace, the start of the Conference._

As was customary for a meeting between Kage A and Tsunade set their Kage hats in front of them at the table. Next to Tsunade sat Jiraya, acting as an advisor. Next to A, on the opposite side of the table, was Dodai. Behind each leader stood their bodyguards, hands staying near their weapons at all times. Genma Shiranui, Raido Namiashi, and Iwashi Tatami, the famed Hokage Guard Platoon, capable of performing the Flying Thunder Formation Technique to teleport the Hokage away from trouble, glared at Darui, X, and C, as if it was a contest to see which bodyguard unit could intimidate the other.

"Alright, let's get started, Hokage-dono." said A, trying not to let his impatience show, he just wanted to get to the confrontation, then the fun could begin. "Of course, Raikage-dono." responded Tsunade, equally anxious for the showdown, but also trying to keep her cool. "I thought I might begin by offering a marriage contract to grow the bonds between our villages. Of course we'd be willing to pay a generous dowry. Konoha has a couple of clans interested in having the recent Chunin Exam winner marry their heiress. The Yotsuki clan can have their pick of Yamanaka or Inuzuka, both are willing to offer significant financial incentives to make it happen." She said, passing over pictures of Hana and Ino, along with proposals from each of the clans.

"I'm afraid that's impossible, Hokage-dono" stated A, causing Tsunade to arch her eyebrows in a sort of "That's a load of bull shit" facial expression. "It's impossible because Kumo has considerably fewer clans than most other villages, and thus, in order to protect their abilities, there is a law against Clan Members marrying into clans from other villages." In fact, he had told the truth, but the law had been passed just days before he left for the meeting, to give him plausible deniability in case this exact situation occurred.

"That's a shame, a really a shame." Tsunade shook her head. Her next words took the utmost amount of restraint to not be screamed in rage. "We both know why I proposed that." she said, tossing the file of all of Konoha's evidence about Naruto over to A. "If you don't mind I'd like to speak to my Godson, and I'd like to speak with him Yesterday."

A took a couple of minutes to look over the file before passing it over to Dodai. _Konoha really did their homework on this one. Look's like the show's just getting started. Don't you worry, Naruto. You aren't going anywhere_.

A looked over the file with his best poker face, carefully studying each piece of evidence. When he was finished he passed it to Dodai, who in turn passed a separate file to him. "That's a nice file you've got there, Hokage-dono. You've clearly done your research, of course most of it is circumstantial. Let me help you out, I've got a file of my own." With that it was A's turn to slide a file across the table to Tsunade.

As Tsunade read she had to work hard to keep a straight face, the information was difficult to take in. Inside was a complete record of every mistreatment that Naruto suffered while he was in Konoha. Every time the orphanage mistreated him. Every time an ANBU waited until the last possible second to save him, every time someone was prevented from adopting him, every time the Third Hokage had tried to recall Jiraya or Tsunade to look after him but was ignored, every time someone broke into the orphanage to assault him. Every beating, and every attempt on his life was there on the paper, down to the last gruesome detail. Some reports were even accompanied by photographic evidence. Dodai's spy network had really outdone themselves.

Tsunade's face had lost most of its color by the time she handed the file to Jiraya. Her voice was barely above a whisper as she spoke "how did you get all of this?" "Please, it's easy to get intelligence from the single most easily infiltrated of the great nations, whose spy network is run by the single most incompetent spymaster of all the shinobi nations, large or small."

"Excuse me, care to say that again?" said Jiraya, pulled out of reading A's files by the insult. "What Raikage-sama means is that you are a great spy, Jiraya-san, just not a great leader of spies" came Dodai's answer. "Hn, it's true" A took over.

"Your infiltration skills are legendary, but the way you manage your network is ineffective and inefficient. If anyone other than your sensei, your student, and your teammate had been Hokage during your time as spymaster you would have been fired for negligence of duty. Half the time you come to the Land of Lighting to gather information you just get drunk and flirt. It's easy to plant women to give you false information. I know for a fact we aren't the only village to plant women for you to flirt with either. Furthermore with you out of your village so much your village's counter-surveillance is practically nonexistent.

Now it was Jiraya's turn to have no color on his face. A's points had struck home and Jiraya was left almost speechless. "D-D-Danzo's supposed to handle counter-surveillance" was all he was able to weakly stutter out. "Ha! Don't even get me started on Danzo, the man's organization is a breeding ground for double agents!" laughed A. "All you need to do is capture one of his people, take the seal off their tongue, and then show them a little kindness, what it means to be human again. Almost all of them turn on Konoha, and even come to hate their village for subjecting them to Danzo's torturous training and rigid organization. They're only to happy to spy on you in exchange for the promise of companionship and humane treatment once they retire to Kumo."

A turned towards Darui and gave some instructions. "Speaking of which, Darui, send the signal. I want Torune and all of our other agents within the Foundation out of Konoha before nightfall. Tell him if he gets the chance he should kill that Yamanaka that spies for Kiri as well." Darui pulled out a small device, and pushed a button on it. "Message sent, Raikage-sama."

Tsunade frowned, this was a lot to take in. _That looks like a long range radio transmitter. Kumo's agents in the Foundation will have already received the message. My only option would be to have the Guard Platoon teleport me back, and that would amount to me standing up another Kage, paramount to a declaration of war. There's nothing I can do, but I can use this info to my political advantage back home. What's A's aim though? Why is he telling me all of this?_

"Don't you think you're burning a few too many bridges, Raikage-dono? Revealing your spies, revealing the problems with our spy network? Why?" she asked.

A couldn't help but smile. _Check and mate, Hokage-dono._ "Because I'm showing you just how truly pathetic your village is. We have plenty of other spies in Konoha. We also have excellent counter-surveillance, so I'm not worried about your spy network suddenly being able to do their damn jobs. Konoha is arrogant, Hokage-dono. It is true that you are the largest of the shinobi villages, and you do have a habit of producing a higher than average number of excellent shinobi, but they are the exceptions, not the rule. The average Kumo genin could beat the average Konoha Chunin. There's no denying it. Your academy graduation standards are pathetically naive and easy. Your clans are stuck up and arrogant, and it has prevented them from pushing to better themselves. Civilian input bogs down your shinobi affairs. Your village is full of spies, and your spy network can't pull any solid intel on the other great nations to save their lives. Your only advantage is your large population, and right now, so soon after the invasion, you don't even have that.

I don't want to go to war with Konoha, Hokage-dono, but I'm prepared to if it means keeping that boy away from the place that thought trying to kill a 1 year old baby, the son of their own Kage, was a good idea. Face the facts, our average shinobi is better than yours. We have 3 bijuu and you have none, our forces are currently around equal in number. Iwa is also primed for a fight, Suna is not. Declare War if you want, you'll lose. Also, how dare you deceive Mifune-dono and I into thinking this was going to be a conference on cooperation and peace, when instead it was clearly supposed to be a trap. It's a good thing I saw through it."

Tsunade was beside herself. She didn't want to admit it, but deep down inside she knew A was right on just about every point, but he wasn't done yet. "What's more, you have the gall to demand to see your supposed Godson?! If you're his godmother than where the hell were you when your village decided they wanted to kill a baby? What kind of Godmother abandons their child to a drunken mob of hateful idiots?! He's your predecessor's legacy and you, your teammate, and your sensei just left him to die in the street like a stray dog? Naruto is loved in Kumo. He's one of us, and every single shinobi in my village would gladly go to war to keep him in home." He emphasized his point by slamming his large fists down onto the table, causing ripples on the surface of the tea and water glasses on the table.

At this point Mifune, and his guards and attendants were thoroughly confused as to what was going on. The summit was supposed to be about Orochimaru and the Akatsuki, not to declare war over some boy named after a ramen topping. The Hokage Guard Platoon however was absolutely floored. _The Jinchuuriki is alive? He's Minato-sensei's son? He's in Kumo? What the hell happened?_

A could tell by the look in Tsunade's eyes that he had won. He wasn't surprised. He was a veteran of several Kage summits, while this was Tsunade's first time at one. She had tried a veteran move by springing a trap, but she had made a rookie mistake, never underestimate your opponent. Now was his opportunity to try to get what he wanted out of all of this.

"Now despite what you may have heard about me I can actually be quite reasonable, Hokage-dono. I'm prepared to make a deal with you, but only if you agree to my terms. I'm all for coordination and cooperation against mutual threats, and even to a defensive alliance. It will be the same deal we have with Iwa. They attack you, we help you. You attack them, we help them. It's the best I can do given that we are already allies with them, and the two of you hate each other. As for the mutual threats, I'm prepared to put together a joint task force. There are just a few things you'd need to agree to first."

"What are your terms?" grumbled Tsunade, all but conceding defeat. "First off you will renounce any claim your village has on Naruto Yotsuki, he is a Kumo shinobi. Second, as long as our defensive alliance is in tact no Kumo shinobi will appear in your bingo book unless they go rogue. Third, none of your shinobi will approach Naruto Yotsuki. If, at some point in his life, he is willing to speak to you, then you can, but it has to be on his terms. Outside of a couple of your kunoichi that he met during the exams the boy feels nothing but hatred and fear towards your village. Those are all non negotiable. In addition..." The Raikage continued to list demands for several minutes.

Seeing that the talks were back on track Mifune eagerly rejoined the discussion, acting as a mediator. A was willing to negotiate on several of the other terms, especially his financial and trade demands, but he never budged on his demands for Naruto. At the end of the day Tsunade and Jiraya slunk back to their accommodations, absolutely humiliated.

In a master stroke A had not only taken the option of war off of the table, but set him self up for a very advantageous agreement, and humiliated the leaders of the high and mighty Konoha. Tsunade and her spy master hated to admit it, but it was brilliant. _I hate diplomacy, why can't I just punch them instead?_ thought the exhausted Tsunade as she practically chugged Sake.

Meanwhile, in the Kumo accommodations, A was enjoying a nice dinner when Darui approached him. "Raikage-sama, we just got word from our ship off of the coast of the Land of Fire. Torune Aburame and our other 9 spies inside Danzo's organization were all able to make it out of Konoha and are safely aboard the vessel." A smiled, _This day just keeps getting better._ "Good, tell the captain to head for home." "Of course, Raikage-sama. I can't help but wonder if burning our agents in the Foundation was worth it though..."

Dodai looked at Darui incredulously "Are you kidding me? Even if we had to burn 100 spies it would be worth it for a Jinchuuriki!" "Not just any Jinchuuriki," corrected A, "for Naruto."

-End of Chapter-

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Over the break I went back to all previous chapters and done some editing. I'm not saying that the formatting and grammar are going to be perfect, but they should be considerably better than they were.

Gotta cite my source for the idea of the Aburame adopting Naruto. Check out the story "Legend of the Bond Aburame" by the author 'Sonson-sensei' It's in my story favorites list, so you can find a link to it there. As a huge Shino fan I loved the story. Also, if you know of any good Shino-centric stories let me know. I'm working on one, and I kinda want to see what is out there so I can avoid plagiarism and all that jazz.

Yes, I did go out of my way and put in a an entire section, that wasn't necessary for the plot, just so I could make a Star Wars reference. If you didn't catch it you'll find out about it at the end of the next chapter like always. I just saw Last Jedi a few days ago (writing this specific comment on 12/21) so I've got Star Wars on the brain.

A few answers to some questions that have been asked in PMs or Reviews:

Q:Does Naruto Know Rasengan?  
A: No, I don't see how he could since only Jiraya and Kakashi could teach him and they don't really have a relationship with him. Perhaps if things develop a certain way in the future he could learn it.

Q: What will Naruto say to Tsunade?  
A: Well, that would spoil things, so I won't answer that.

Q: Will Naruto end up with Hinata? Related Q: Will Naruto be paired with anyone at all?  
A: Hinata? Probably Not. Relationships aren't really the emphasis of the story yet, and the only one that is decided is ShikaTema (and SasuKarin), so much of this is up in the air, but Naruto is unlikely to end up with either Hinata or Sakura. Again though, that's not confirmed. I'm not really considering pairings right now, for Naruto or anyone really. Thus far I've only used pairings for convenient plot points in the interludes, and it will likely be a while before they start to become important in the main story. There will be most likely be a Naruto pairing, it just isn't a focus at this time.

Q: Will Naruto meet Shikaku Nara?  
A: I can honestly say this question greatly influenced this chapter, so thanks bankai777. This chapter in turn inspired a whole separate story (more on that below) While I'm not yet sure if Naruto and Shikaku will actually meet I can definitely say Shikaku probably would not have appeared in the story at all if not for your review. Also, several of these questions are yours, so thanks for being such an engaged reader!

Q: Why did Temari end up as Kazekage? Isn't she kinda weak for it?  
A: Temari ended up as Kazekage because it seems to be pretty common for Gaara to become Kazekage and Temari to end up in Konoha married to Shikamaru (or Naruto). I don't think I have read a fanfic yet where Temari actually becomes Kazekage, and wanted to explore the possibility. (Don't get me wrong, I like Gaara, but it seems like he ALWAYS ends up as Kazekage. It works well in canon, but I wanted to try something different.)

As for the weak thing, here are my thoughts: As I envision Suna, their forces are pretty devastated, and they don't really have any Kage level Shinobi. Gaara, as a jinchuuriki is probably the most powerful, but of course most people in the village fear him, and those people's fears can be stoked by simply looking at how Kiri's jinchuuriki Kage was doing (granted, he was controlled, but Suna wouldn't know that). Thus Suna chose Temari, who is very young for a Kage, with the expectation that she will get more powerful and grow into the position. That is also why Baki will remain in a leadership position for a few years, so as to allow her more time to train and get stronger. Unfortunately Gaara didn't have a big hero moment like Naruto does in the show with Pain, so too many influential people are afraid of him to end up being Kage.

I had a lot of fun writing the Konoha Council section of this chapter. In fact I enjoyed it so much that I was inspired to write a new story that will focus on said council, and be more politically oriented than action/adventure oriented. It's not in the same universe as this story (Naruto will still be a Konoha Shinobi). I'm hoping that all the improvement I have made in writing and story design as this story has progressed will make it so the new story starts much better than this one does. I will of course continue to work on this one as well, but if you get the chance please check out my 2nd story, "Shinobi Politics."

Thanks for reading

-Col. Bogey


	20. Interlude: The Leaf 10

-I don't own Naruto. Naruto was created by Kishimoto, please support the official release. Thanks for reading my first attempt at fan fiction-

 _Italics are thoughts, or information on the setting. It should be fairly obvious which is which_

* * *

 _First of all,_ my apologies that you aren't looking at Ch. 14 right now. I had originally planned on holding this interlude until after the Kage Conference is over, but I'm not ready to publish Ch. 14 yet, going through a bit of a writers block on that chapter, so I moved this interlude up. This is the last Interlude for the foreseeable future, as I've said before I've had all these interludes written for several months now, and this is the last one. The beginning of it takes place in between the Chunin Exams and the Kage conference, the ending takes place post Kage conference, but there are no spoilers. I know these last couple Interludes muddy up the Timeline a bit, so in my next update I'll post something that clears it up.

* * *

 _-Konoha, the Hokage's Office-_

Tsunade sat behind her desk and surveyed the 9 genin, one chunin, and their jonin leaders leaders assembled before her. The group consisting of teams 7,8,9, and 10 had once been referred to as the "Leaf 12," though due to a death and a betrayal, both on Team 7, their numbers had been cut to 10, and with Shikamaru's impending marriage to the new Kazekage, Temari, it would soon be the Leaf 9. Behind her stood her assistant and former apprentice Shizune, along with her teammate and spymaster, Jiraya.

"Between the recommendations of the Chunin Exam Finals Judges and the reports and video I received from the Raikage of earlier rounds I have decided to promote a few of you to join Shikamaru as chunin. If I call your name see Shizune to get your flak jacket. Shino Aburame, Choji Akimichi, and Neji Hyuga, the Finals judges have nominated you for Chunin, and I agree with their recommendation, congratulations you are hereby promoted to chunin."

Choji cheered with joy, Neji smirked, and even Shino showed some emotion, though it was very subtle and only the adults and his teammates caught it. Tsunade continued: "They also recommended Sakura, but I denied it. My apprentice brought great shame to me by publicly expressing her love for a traitor. I can't trust her if she is in charge of a squad and all of a sudden the Uchiha shows up. Until she can prove that her feelings for the damn Uchiha will not hinder her duties as a Chunin she will remain a genin."

"I'm sorry Shishou." Sakura stared at the floor, looking absolutely dejected. She had not only made a fool of her self, but had humiliated her mentor, and was desperate to earn Tsunade's forgiveness.

"Prove it to me by breaking your fangirl mentality, my foolish apprentice. You and I will talk more about this later." Tsunade gave Sakura a stern look before addressing the whole group again. Sakura grimaced in pain. She had already been chewed out by Tsunade twice, and she had a feeling she was in for a very painful "training" session later.

Tsunade took a deep breath, trying to banish thoughts of rage from her mind. Finally, she continued: "That being said I am very pleased to say that based on her actions in the 2nd Exam I'm promoting Tenten to Chunin. I've also been asked to present her with this medal of bravery from Iwagakure, and to pass along the Tsuchikage's thanks for saving the life of his granddaughter." Tenten turned bright red in embarrassment from her Idol's kind words as she stepped forward to accept her vest, and a small box emblazoned with the Iwa seal.

"That now makes 5 members of this group of 10 chunin. I'll be restructuring the remaining genin teams, and would like to talk to the ladies about a couple of things. Gentlemen you will be hearing from me in a couple of days, but with the exception of Jiraya you are all dismissed, ladies please stay... Jiraya if you so much as even think a perverted thought I'll knock you from here to Kiri."

As all of the men except for Konoha's spy master left two additional kunoichi entered the room, both with purple hair. "I've been Hokage for close to a year now, and in that time I've noticed that our education system is miserably failing kunoichi. We are churning out too many fan girls and not enough shinobi." said Tsunade with a slight glare at Sakura, who again stared at the floor, having been humiliated twice by her master in the span of 5 minutes.

"I've decided to do something about it and you are all going to be my guinea pigs in a new Kunoichi mentorship program. Genin kunoichi will be paired with jonin kunoichi in order to help them improve their skills and break them of any fan girl mentality that they may have. Normally this would be a part time thing in addition to the genin's work in their teams, but since you have all worked in teams before I'm assigning most of you two mentors for now. Sakura, you are already my apprentice and will continue to train with me in medial ninjutsu and Taijutsu. In addition I'm making you Kurenai's apprentice to learn Genjutsu."

Tsunade then turned to the other major fangirl of the group. "Ino, your mentors will be Anko and Kurenai. With your clan's mind techniques members of your clan are quite useful in the T&I division, and Anko is currently one the top ranking members of that division. With your understanding of the mind you could also be deadly with Genjutsu, so Kurenai will train you in addition to Sakura." Ino was a bit creeped out by Anko, but nodded in acceptance.

Tsunade then turned to address Hinata. "Hinata, you desperately need confidence, so you'll have Anko as a mentor as she is undoubtedly the most...confident and outgoing kunoichi in the village, in addition I believe the Byakugan could revolutionize medical ninjutsu, so I want you to have some medical training. Unfortunately between my Hokage duties and training Sakura I don't have time for you, but Shizune is an excellent medical nin as well and will be your other mentor."

"Tenten, you are a chunin, and I'd like to have the mentorship end when a kunoichi gets promoted to chunin, but since this is all one big experiment, and I need as much feedback as I can get right now, I'm assigning you mentors as well. Yugao will be your primary mentor, as she is one of our village's best when it comes to Kenjutsu and weaponry."

The taller of the two purple haired women, who was wearing ANBU clothes, removed her mask and made a slight bow to Tenten. Tsunade continued: "Because you do a lot with sealing scrolls and make your own paper bombs I'd like you to learn more Fuinjutsu as well. Unfortunately we don't have any kunoichi who know Fuinjutsu, so you'll be learning that from Jiraya. Though he'll only be a traditional sensei, not a mentor."

She then took a moment to glare at her old teammate "Jiraya if you think any dirty thoughts about this girl you will die before you finish them" "Don't worry Hime, she's a just a bit to young for me, I do have some standards you know, no one under 18." _He's a creep, but he's a Sanin, so I'll probably get really strong_ thought Tenten, unsure wether to be excited or scared.

Tsunade shot her fellow Sanin a look of pure rage before continuing to address the group: "4 Days a week you will meet with your mentors, one in the morning, and one in the afternoon. You'll have one day off, and the other 2 days you will run missions as a squad, as a Chunin Tenten will be in command of missions. I know this is a lot to take in, so are there any questions?"

"W-w-what about our other teammates?" asked Hinata. "Well they are all chunin now except Kiba and Lee. Teams 7, 8, and 10 are being dissolved. Kiba is being moved to Team 9 to take Tenten's spot, and Neji will stay with team 9 and take command of the team when the do D rank missions. Shino and Choji will join the Chunin corp. Shikamaru is already working full time as an emissary to Suna and host for visiting Suna delegations as we try to repair our relationship with them. Besides, he'll be moving there and becoming one of their Shinobi and the Kazekage's husband before too long as part of our new treaty." Tsunade paused to allow it all to sink in.

After a moment, she continued "As for your sensei, Gai will stay in charge of Team 9, Kakashi is going back to ANBU part time though he'll also be involved in training Kiba and Lee to counteract Gai's "unique" personality. Asuma is taking over as head of the Sarutobi clan, and Kurenai will split her time between training Ino and Sakura and doing missions. If there are no further questions you are dismissed."

- _1 month later-_

The leaf 10 had settled into their new roles quite nicely, and had also began to bond as a group, setting up a weekly meet up at Yakiniku Q, a BBQ restaurant much loved by the former members of Team 10.

Kiba had settled into Team 9 nicely, and his Taijutsu had improved immensely. Neji, as deputy leader of the team, and team commander for D rank missions, had also started to beat some sense into both Kiba and Lee. Kiba had also become a pseudo apprentice to Kakashi, and was learning elemental ninjutsu from him.

Kakashi had wanted to go back to ANBU full time, but Tsunade had refused to allow him to retreat into the darkness and depression that had been a staple of his life as a full time ANBU member, in between the death of his teammates and his assignment as a jonin sensei. She only allowed him to go back to the ANBU part time, and even then only on the condition that he help train Kiba and Lee.

Tsunade had wanted to prevent Kiba from going insane from Gai and Lee's antics, and perhaps give Lee some of his sanity back, and hoped that Kakashi would make a nice counterbalance to his "eternal rival."

Given his track record of failing his students Kakashi had been hesitant, but the match seemed to be a good thing for both of them, and it forced Kakashi to interact with Gai more, since they were both technically Kiba's sensei. The arrangement seemed to be having a positive impact on Kakashi's emotional state. As much as Kakashi liked to pretend to be annoyed with Gai, the man really was Kakashi's best friend.

Shino and Choji had seamlessly integrated into the Chunin Corp. Since the chunin exam Shino had started to become more personable (though he was still very quiet and awkward by normal standards) and had begun to develop a good relationsip with Choji, in addition to his friendships with his fellow Team 8 alumni. He also regularly kept a regular correspondence with a certain Hoshi kunoichi, which Kiba constantly teased him about.

Sakura's medical skills and physical strength continued to grow from her studies with Tsunade, and she began to incorporate Genjutsu into her fighting style as well. She was still in love with Sasuke, but was trying to force herself to move on, and had even accepted a date with Lee once, that had been an experience she never wanted to repeat. Her relationship with her old sensei Kakashi also continued to improve, and she had made it her personal mission to force him to spend time with people as much as possible.

Ino was terrified of Anko, but had been shadowing her at the T&I department, and was taking her studies of her clan jutsu more seriously, she was also getting the hang of genjutsu, and begone to idolize Kurenai for being able to stay gorgeous while also being a lethal shinobi.

Hinata had made the most improvement of any member of the Leaf 10. Anko's boisterous personality had begun to impact Hinata, and while still reserved she rarely stuttered, and even spoke at a normal volume. Her purple haired master had also allowed her to sign the snake summoning contract. Her Byakugan, combined with Shizune's skills as a teacher, was turning her into the greatest medical genius the village had seen since Tsunade her self.

Tenten's already impressive skills with weapons and ninja tools had become even more fearsome under the guidance of her ANBU shishou, and while Tsunade had been hesitant about having her perverted teammate teach a teenage girl Jiraya had been an exceptional Fuinjutsu teacher.

After failing to look after his godchild and losing him Jiraya had been dejected for many years, but he jumped at the opportunity to take another student. Subconsciously seeking redemption, he had thrown himself into teaching. Tenten was showing a tremendous amount of interest, and skill, in the sealing arts. As the only chunin amongst the 4 kunoichi Tenten was also gaining valuable leadership experience, as three days a week the 4 girls would run C, or even sometimes B rank missions as a team, and Tenten was always in command.

- _With Tsunade and Sakura-_

Sakura was all but praying to pass out as she puked up her lunch. Ever since the Chunin Exams Tsunade had taken to poisoning her pink haired apprentice whenever a certain traitor was mentioned. Not enough to kill or cause permanent damage, but enough to spend at least a day in absolute misery. Tsunade claimed that it was to build up immunity against poisons, but Sakura strongly suspected it was punishment, that Tsunade was trying to cause her to subconsciously associate Sasuke with this horrible experience.

"I'm sorry...Shishou" she said in a hoarse voice. Tsunade simply stared at her, with a stern look on her face. "How many times to we have to do this until you figure it out Sakura? Discussing the Uchiha will lead to punishment." she said, not even trying to disguise it as building up immunity this time. Sakura was unable to answer, as once again was forced to clutch her stomach and empty its contents into a bucket.

"Tomorrow I'll show you how to identify, neutralize, and make antidotes for this particular type of poison, but keep in mind that there are many more types I can use that you don't know how to cure, so think carefully before you decide to humiliate me in front of my colleagues again" said the vengeful Hokage.

- _With Ino and Kurenai-_

"Good, very good Ino. You're learning this technique pretty quickly" praised Konoha's resident red eyed Genjutsu expert. "Keep it up and I may finally decide to tell you how to be stylish and lethal at the same time." Ino's eyes lit up, ever since she had been apprenticed to Kurenai she had been begging her for that secret. Kurenai had quickly figured this out, and even though there wasn't really a secret, she used it as a carrot to motivate Ino's training.

While not as big of a fan girl as Sakura, Ino had been a fan girl through and through, at least until Sasuke had murdered a classmate and defected. Even after that Ino remained a loudmouthed, immature, gossip who would rather shop than train. Kurenai, who hated fangirls to her very core, had put Ino under a particularly powerful Genjutsu on their first day of training, hoping to convince Ino of just how weak she was.

It seemed to have worked, because for the last month Ino had been a dedicated student. She had learned many low level genjutsu, and Kurenai had just started to teach her some intermediate level techniques. Ino had struggled at first, but all it had taken was dangling that carrot of Kurenai's fashion and beauty secrets in front of Ino just as she was starting to get discouraged to get the young Kunoichi motivated again. _She's a nice kid, but she's so predictable. I really hope this mentorship thing proves to be a success. I'm so glad Tsunade-sama is trying to do something about fan-girl-itis_ thought the jonin.

- _With Tenten and Yugao-_

The sound of blades clashing had been ringing throughout the training grounds for the last hour. The origin of the sounds was a spar between Tenten and Yugao. Tenten was an expert in a variety of weapons and tools, but her sword skills had been comparatively weak before she started learning from the ANBU captain.

"Your footwork has gotten better, Tenten. Let's see how well you can protect yourself from my onslaught." called Yugao. "Hai, Shishou" Tenten wanted to have a moment to soak in the praise, but she knew what was coming. Suddenly Yugao shifted her stance and charged at Tenten, forcing the chunin to adapt a very defensive stance and style.

"Not good enough" chided Yugao as she managed to score a few hits on her pupil. "If I were channeling my chakra into my blade you'd have lost a limb. If I had poison on my blade you'd be dead soon. Take a 5 minute break to treat your cuts." As Tenten began to treat her wounds her resolve only grew. She would master this, as she had so many other weapons and tools. Fuinjutsu and weapons mastery? Tenten knew the combination would make her absolutely lethal.

 _-With Hinata and Anko-_

Hinata had not had a lot of positive role models in her life. The two people she looked up to the most, her father Hiashi and her cousin Neji, seemed to despise her. She looked up to Kurenai as well, but Kurenai alone was not enough to overcome the negative influence in Hinata's life that was the Hyuga clan, and Kurenai had been unwilling to interfere in internal Hyuga matters.

Anko however seemed to relish every opportunity she got to poke the metaphorical bear that was Hiashi Hyuga. She was so willing to stand up for her apprentice that Hiashi had actually gone to the Hokage to demand that Hinata stop training with Anko. All he had come away from that meeting with was a broken jaw.

Kurenai and Anko were good friends, so when not on a mission or training Sakura and Ino, Kurenai often joined in on Hinata and Anko's training sessions, unwilling to sever her bond with her former student.

Between Kurenai's loving care, Shizune's diligent focus and patience, and Anko's brash attitude and brutal training Hinata was slowly developing a belief in herself, it was still low, but it was there. Her three sensei had opened her eyes to just how wrong it was that her clan had all but discarded her, and she had given herself a new goal. _Father and Neji-niisan will acknowledge me_ became her new mantra.

Currently Hinata and Anko were sitting in Anko's favorite Dango restaurant. They did this fairly regularly, as Anko was more focused on building Hinata's confidence and self-worth than she was with anything else. _Shizune-chan's got the medical ninjutsu covered, she's already signed the snake contract, and I can't teacher her gentle fist, so building up her self esteem is the best thing I can do for her_ was Anko's philosophy when it came to Hinata.

"All right Hinata-chan, we need to talk about something very important today. You're 15 now, and for a 15 year old you have a great body, show it off. Even with that baggy coat I already notice a couple of boys who can't keep their eyes off of you. Wear something a little tighter or showing a bit more skin and you'll have them practically wrapped around your finger. Take it from your super-sexy Shishou, nothing is better for a woman's self-esteem than having a well trained man to serve your every whim."

Hinata blushed, though her confidence in her abilities as a shinobi had increased she still didn't really have much of a sense of self worth, and had been convinced that no one would ever be interested in her. "W-who have you seen looking at me shishou?"

"Come on my adorable apprentice, you mean you haven't seen it? Dog-kun practically drools every time he sees you, and Chubby-san seems to have taken an interest in you too." "*EEP* Anko-shishou, you mean K-kiba-kun and C-Choji-kun like me?" "Hinata-cha, what have I said about stuttering?" "Stuttering equals punishment, Anko-shishou" Hinata said while grimacing and remembering some of the punishments Anko had given her for stuttering. Needless to say they were not pleasant experiences.

"That's right, but that will come later, back to more important things. There's only one way to find out how the boys feel Hinata-chan, now how about we take that jacket off." Hinata took off her jacket and Anko couldn't help but notice her *ahem* _assets_ *ahem*. _Wow Anko, did you really just get jealous of a 15 year old girl?_ Anko thought to herself.

"Woah, looks like you're almost as sexy as your super sexy Anko-shishou, now let's get those boys wrapped around your finger, you know, to build your confidence." "Anko-sensei, pardon me for asking, but with all this talk of boys I can't help but wonder, are you seeing anyone?" "Not at the moment, Hinata-chan, but if I get my way a certain someone will be wrapped around my fingers before you know it. Tell me Hinata-chan, have you ever wondered what's underneath Kakashi-kun's mask?"

 _-Several months later, with Tsunade, Jiraya, and Shizune-_

The 5th Hokage, her assistant, and her spy master were discussing the Kunoichi mentorship program. The Official 6 month trial period had ended, and it had been a smashing success. All 4 of the girls put in the program had improved significantly, and were all now Chunin, as were Kiba and Lee, making their entire group Chunin.

In addition the bonds forged between the girls and their shishous was strong, and though not part of the mentorship program anymore they all still continued to train regularly with at least one of their mentors. Sakura and Hinata continued their medical training, and when not on missions were now often working at Konoha's hospital.

Both had also found themselves the romantically involved, as Hinata had been dating Choji since shortly after Anko had convinced her to stop wearing her jacket, and Sakura had finally gotten over Sasuke and had gone on dates with a number of different boys, though she had been seeing Kiba for the last month and had no intention of ending it anytime soon.

Ino had begun working in the T&I department, and still trained with Kurenai, in addition to her father. The combination of Genjutsu and the Yamanka Clan's mind based techniques was truly a terrifying combination. Ino found that she was able to read a target's mind and custom tailor genjutsu illusions to her target.

Fuinjutsu, like medical ninjutsu, was a complicated art that took time to master, so Tenten and Jiraya also continued to meet, though not as regularly since Jiraya had a spy network to maintain. Tenten was however serving as a mentor to a young genin who was part of the first batch of rookie kunoichi to be placed in the mentor program from the moment they graduated, there had been such a demand for it that some Chunin had to serve as mentors in addition to jonin.

At the moment Tsunade, Shizune, and Jiraya were reviewing other kunoichi in the village whom they could approach to serve as mentors. "What about Tsume Inuzuka? She's a fine shinobi, and almost as boisterous as Anko." suggested Jiraya "Well her duties as Inuzuka Clan Head may take too much of her time, however her daughter Hana would make an excellent mentor." responded Tsunade.

"Tsunade-sama, now that Shikamaru is living in Suna maybe we could get Yoshino Nara to resume her career? I remember her being a skilled chunin before she retired to be a stay at home mom, and she would make an excellent mentor." "True, good thinking Shizune. If I remember correctly she was pretty good with Taijutsu and Genjutsu, we could use another genjutsu user in the village, especially since Kurenai is about to go on medical leave."

"What's she going on medical leave for?" asked Jiraya. "How can you be a spy master and yet not hear about the biggest piece of gossip in Konoha?" asked Shizune. "Well my duties keep me away from Konoha more than I'd like, I don't even think I've been able to help Tenten with seals in the last month I've been gone so much, so really, what's up with Kurenai?"

"She's pregnant." said Tsunade before giving out a sad sigh "If only Sarutobi-sensei were still alive, he'd be so happy to know he's getting another grandchild." "So Asuma and Kurenai eh?" said Jiraya. "Yes, they've been together for a while now, just not publicly. They're engaged too, so she's also making preparations to officially join the Sarutobi clan." said Shizune.

"And so the will of fire lives on for another generation. You did good with this Kunoichi mentor program Hime, most importantly the three of us have all passed on the will of fire to our students. You're absolutely right, Sarutobi-sensei would be very proud, not just of them, but of you as well Tsunade." Tsunade couldn't help but grin at her old teammate's kind words. "You know when you're not busy being a pervert you can actually be very sweet Jiraya" she teased.

"I'm glad you're in a good mood, because I have a favor to ask." "Oh?" "I want to take Tenten along on my next trip. I need to give her more time to develop her Fuinjutsu, and as my apprentice it would be good for her to meet some of my contacts. You can easily find another mentor for the girl she's working with, so I think it would be best for her to focus on Fuinjutsu." "Fine, but you can't be gone for more than 6 months."

Shizune started giggling, which brought her strange looks from the two Sanin. "I'm sorry Tsunade-sama, but I remember when we started this whole thing you were so worried about Jiraya-sama being a bad influence on Tenten or perving on her that you specifically said she could not be his apprentice, that it would only be a normal sensei-student relationship, not master-student."

Tsunade nodded, remembering her initial anxiety about the set up "That's true, but Tenten's actually been a good influence on Jiraya, so I allowed it. I sent ANBU to spy on him, specifically Yugao since she also has an interest in the girl, and not once when he was training Tenten did he do anything pervy to her, or even sneak off to peek at the hot springs."

Shizune was both shocked and relieved to hear that, and gave a confused look towards Jiraya, whose face turned gloomy before he explained his change in behavior. "It's Naruto. I was supposed to be his god-father. I was supposed to be there for him, but after Minato died I was so caught up in grief that I couldn't even look at him, much less stay in the village. I abandoned him and look at what happened. What happened to him is all my fault, so when Tsunade approached me about teaching Fuinjutsu to Tenten I saw a chance at redemption, and swore I'd never fail another student."

As the sun set over the Hokage Mountain Tsunade pulled out a bottle of sake and poured three glasses. Distributing two of them to her companions she offered a simple toast: "To the next generation, and to the Will of Fire."

 _-End of Interlude_ -

* * *

Finally! The last of the four interludes I've been sitting on since September is out! There won't be any more for a while, as most of my ideas that don't directly apply to the main story of YN have been diverted to my 2nd story. I noticed a lot of parallels between this interlude and that story. Not enough to say it is based off of this interlude, it's not, but there are similarities. I hadn't even looked at this interlude in about 2 months when I started writing Shinobi Politics.

Kurenai teaching Ino, Ino having not taken training seriously, Medical-nin Hinata, Tenten being the strongest of the four Kunoichi, and etc. are all elements that seem to be in both. So if you liked those elements check it out. Tenten, and especially Ino have important roles in that story. As I write this it's on chapter 7.

Thanks to the reviewer who reminded me that I should show Tsunade punishing Sakura. Poison "Training!" Helpful, but unpleasant. Also, since I know some of you will freak out, the pairings mentioned in this Interlude are in no way permanent. For all we know they are just flings. I never mentioned that the characters were in love with each other, they were just dating.

With the Chunin Exams we've been talking about Konoha a lot. Some of you may find this odd since this is supposed to be a more Kumo-centric story. Naruto is of course the main focus of the story, and given his origin and status I don't really believe it is possible to do a clean break from Konoha. He's only the son of a Kage and a Jinchuuriki, pretty important to the Leaf Village. That being said A, B, Omoi, Karui, and possibly Darui and Samui will all start to show up more post time-skip (which will occur at the end of conference between Tsunade and A), quite possibly Dodai as well. Some Konoha characters will also continue to be important given the whole Konoha-Kumo dynamic. That being said for many of them this may be the last time they are mentioned for a while.

Thanks for reading.  
-Col. Bogey


	21. Chapter 14: Kage Conference: Finale

Ok, first of all I apologize for the fact that it took me much longer than normal to update. I've had a pretty busy semester so far, and on top of that I had some major writers block on this story. I was finally able to get this chapter out, but much later than normal, and for that I apologize. I hope this won't become the norm, but at this point I can't say that with any sense of certainty.

* * *

Some Timeline Clarification:

The 'Around the same time as the Chunin Exam Finals' part of the Sasuke/Karin/Orochimaru Interlude takes place during the Chunin Exam Finals.

The 1st Part of the Leaf 10 Interlude takes place in between the Chunin Exam Finals and the conference between Tsunade and A.

The Tsunade/A Conference takes place one month after the Chunin Exam Finals.

The '1 month later' section of the Leaf 10 Interlude takes place within a couple of weeks of the completion of the conference.

The 'six months later' section of the Sasuke/Karin/Orochimaru Interlude takes place 5 months after the conference

And finally the 'several months later' section of the Leaf 10 Interlude occurs a couple weeks after the conclusion of the Saskue/Karin/Orochimaru Interlude.

The first chapter after the completion of the conference will most likely take place a few weeks after that (so the main story will have a time skip of a few months.)

Hopefully that clears some things up for you, and now may I once again offer my apologies and present the much delayed 14th chapter of Yotsuki Naruto.

* * *

The second day of meetings between Kumo and Konoha saw little progress between the two sides.

A stuck to his guns. He knew that he had 'won' the first day of meetings, and continued to insist that while he was more than willing to negotiate on most elements of a possible agreement, his demands over Naruto were non-negotiable.

Tsunade was also stubborn. She refused to accept A's demands over her godson, and refused to negotiate on anything else until an agreement over Naruto was in place.

At the end of the second day, in order to try to figure out just what was going on and give the two sides some space to clear their heads, Mifune proposed that the delegations take the next day off.

This was readily agreed to by Tsunade, and begrudgingly agreed to by A, who would have rather continued to press his advantage for a third consecutive day.

The Hokage immediately took advantage of the opportunity this day off presented. First she summoned Katsuyu, and gave the slug instructions for Shizune. She then turned to the Hokage Guard Platoon, and instructed them to discreetly leave a teleportation seal in her room.

Early the next morning she, Jiraya, and the Guard Platoon left Shadow Clones in the Land of Iron, and traveled back to Konoha via the Flying Thunder God Formation Technique.

- _Konoha, the Hokage Tower-_

Thanks to her message to Shizune the night before, and the diligent notes taken by the Land of Iron's scribe for the meeting, the clan heads who had been advising her on this meeting had all been given transcripts of the first two days of meetings to study, and as Tsunade walked into a once again locked down and sealed off conference room she found her most trusted advisors already waiting for her.

Almost immediately the divisions about what to do if Kumo refused to hand over Naruto returned. Jiraya, Inoichi, and Tsume again called for war. Choza, Shizune, and Asuma remained doubtful Konoha could win such a war and advocated other solutions.

Within minutes the debate became quite heated, and tempers flared over the question of war or peace. As Tsunade tried to keep the two sides calm and restrained no one noticed the silent conversation taking place between the two people who had yet to actually speak.

Underneath the table everyone was seated around a pair of hands formed sentences using the ANBU sign language. These signs were observed by a small number of beetles, which conveyed the message to their host.

When said host wanted to respond a small number of beetles discretely made their way to a spiky ponytail, and crawled down to the base of that man's neck, before tapping out a message in morse code.

In this way Shikaku Nara and Shibi Aburame analyzed the situation, and decided to come up with their own plan as they watched their friends and colleagues yell back and forth at each other.

Just as Tsunade was about to resort to destroying the table with her fist to get the two bickering groups to shut up Shikaku finally spoke, silencing the room as everyone wanted to hear what the genius Jonin Commander had to say.

"It's troublesome, but The Raikage has played his hand extremely well. That being said it isn't as bad as you all seem to think it is." He was met with confused looks, but before anyone had the chance to question him Shibi spoke up.

"It is true that if we were to go to war we would likely lose, that's because a calm, careful, even analysis indicates that with both Suna and Konoha in a weakened state our alliance is not as powerful as their alliance is. However, The Raikage has made it quite clear that he has no interest in war."

Shikaku nodded. "True, just look at the gifts he's given us. We finally have enough evidence to take out Danzo, and he's revealed some problems in our intelligence network, allowing us the opportunity to fix it."

"I'm sure everyone here would like to see Danzo fall from grace. Why? Because we've all been forced to give over clansmen to his program at one point or another."

While not obvious to most people the disdain Shibi held for Danzo was evident to the council members. The idea that an Aburame had been taken by Danzo and then turned into a mole by Kumo obviously did not sit well with him.

"You're both right that he's given us some help, but that doesn't excuse the fact that he basically admitted that he stole our Jinchuuriki!" Tsume retorted. "Clearly he has no interest in having any sort of peaceful relationship with us!"

"Such a drag, I can't believe I have to explain this." grumbled the Nara Head. "Look at his demands. He's made it more than clear that he is willing to negotiate on any issue except Naruto. It's an obvious negotiating tactic. You always start aiming for something higher than you want, yet he's being conciliatory towards us despite the fact that he holds all the cards here."

Shibi nodded, "I agree, it seems that he is trying to be conciliatory in other areas in order to avoid having to negotiate on Uzumaki-san. Why? Because he likely is very hesitant to do so."

"All that being said Hokage-sama has a reputation for being very stubborn, and she's stood firm so far. If the Raikage is truly serious about wanting to avoid war I believe he will be willing to listen to a proposal in regards to Naruto."

"And that proposal?" Tsunade asked, clearly trying to prompt her jonin commander to elaborate."

"Before I get to that we all have to accept the fact that Naruto is aware of his heritage, and aware of how he came to be in Kumo, yet is happy there and loyal to them. Even if we did get him back the only way we would have his loyalty is if we put him into Danzo's program and beat the emotions out of him. Yet the only thing we all seem to be able to agree on here is that we are going to use Kumo's information to take Danzo down, it's troublesome, but that's just how it is."

Those that were pushing for war to win Naruto back frowned, but stayed silent, wanting to see what the man they all knew was a genius was getting at.

"There is however another way." Shibi took over again. "The Raikage's file not only goes into great detail about Uzumaki-san's mistreatment here, but also gives a list of those of us who Kumo's spies considered his 'allies.' It is therefore conceivable that Uzumaki-san himself is aware that people like Kakashi-san and myself tried to look after him. We also know he made friends with Tenten-san and was friendly towards my son and Yamanaka-dono's daughter during the Chunin Exams."

"Your point?" asked Inoichi, his paternal instincts taking over as his daughter was brought into the discussion.

Shikaku took over agin. "What if we proposed setting up a meeting between Naruto and a small group of people that Kumo knows are 'allies' of his. Aburame-dono, Kakashi, Tenten, Shino, and Ino. It can be in Kumo, surrounded by as many people guarding him as they want, but at least it gets our foot in the door with Naruto. Perhaps over time that group can win his friendship and soften his hostility towards us. Perhaps Tenten or Ino will fall for him and he'll end up choosing to marry into Konoha. Nothing's guaranteed, and that's a drag, but it is at least a start."

Shibi wrapped things up "It is a very slow moving plan, but it is our only option besides starting a war we can't win. Why you ask? Because Kumo has made it clear that if we insist on Uzumaki-san's return it will mean war." With those ominous words the heads of the Nara and Aburame finished their proposal.

Was it the perfect plan? No, but it did accomplish two big things. It avoided war, and it got their foot in the door with Naruto. Given how backed into a corner Konoha was on this it was the best plan Tsunade had heard.

The Anti-war faction accepted the idea, and Choza, Shizune, and Asuma quickly adopted it as their preferred outcome as well.

By lunch break Shikaku, Shibi, Tsunade, and the anti-war faction had finally talked down Inoichi and Tsume, and convinced them to back the Aburame-Nara plan as well. Only Jiraya remained in favor of war, clouded by his emotions on the issue of Naruto.

Despite his objections Tsunade now had the support of all the clans that were aware of the situation, and decided to go forward with this plan.

The only thing that would throw a wrench in it was if the rest of the council found out, but Tsunade knew that even though he disagreed Jiraya was still too loyal to her to go that far. The Toad Sage hated many of the other councilors just as much as she did.

By mid-afternoon the plan was finalized, but just as the meeting was about to end Jiraya spoke up one last time.

"I still disagree with this, but if we really are going this route I think Shikaku or Shibi should act as your advisor for the rest of your conference with A. It's their plan, and while I won't stand in the way of it I also won't try to pitch something that I disagree with. Let me stay here and make plans for the dismantling of the Foundation."

"Troublesome, Yoshino would kill me if I left the village without telling her, and I have a bunch of paperwork to do."

"If Jiraya-sama is unwilling to continue and Nara-dono is unable than I will be happy to accompany you, Hokage-sama. Why? Because I believe this meeting is crucial to the future of our village."

Tsunade nodded and wrapped things up. "Very well then, Jiraya will stay here and work with the rest of you on planning Danzo's takedown. As Jonin Commander Shikaku will continue to run the village while I'm away, and Shibi will accompany me. Meeting dismissed."

When the Hokage Guard Platoon returned Tsunade and Shibi to the Land of Iron that night the Hokage let out her frustrations with her teammate by dispelling his shadow clone that had stayed in the Land of Iron with the most powerful punch she could muster, before turning in for the night.

- _The Land of Iron-_

While the Hokage had taken her covert trip back to Konoha the Kumo delegation had been having some internal debates of their own.

Within Kumo the Raikage held almost unlimited power, even the most senior and influential members of the Kumo Council were little more than advisors with no real say.

He had never been one to back down from a fight, and those that new him best knew there was a part of him that would have welcomed a war with Konoha.

That being said there was one person that A absolutely could not ignore, the Lightning Daimyo.

The Lightning Daimyo was a shrewd businessman, eager to grow not only his own financial resources, but those of the nation as well.

With the Land of Water embroiled in civil war, the Land of Lighting had a near monopoly on maritime trade with other continents, and combined with the nation's mineral deposits it had the potential to become an extremely wealthy nation, but there were two major problems.

First was the fact that there the nation did relatively little trading with the other elemental nations.

There was no trade whatsoever with the nations in the Fire-Wind alliance, and being in the same alliance as another mineral rich nation like the Land of Earth meant there was tough competition in the few markets where the Land of Lightning's merchants could sell what the nation produced.

There were the imports from other lands of course, but still, not selling to the other alliance meant that the nation was not reaching its full potential economically speaking.

The other problem was that the Land of Lighting had to import a lot of food. It was a relatively barren nation, without major agricultural areas.

Many of the continent's major agricultural centers, such as the Lands of Fire, and Rivers, were allied against them.

The Lightning Daimyo had been trying to solve these problems for some time, even going so far as to offer his own daughter as a bride for the Fire Daimyo's son.

However, the Fire Daimyo maintained that as long as war was a possibility between Konoha and Kumo there would be no marriage or trade agreement.

As such A was under an immense amount of pressure from the Lighting Daimyo to deliver some sort of agreement with Tsunade. Well aware of this, he had taken an extremely conciliatory tone with Konoha since the beginning, even if it went against a part of his nature.

He had hoped that by being conciliatory in almost all other areas of Konoha-Kumo relations he could convince her to sign an agreement while not having to give any ground on the question of Naruto.

However Tsunade had been as stubborn as her reputation said she was, and A and his attendants were trying to figure out the best way to move forward.

"We may have backed her into a corner too quickly, Raikage-sama. Her 'fight or flight' has kicked in, and she's chosen fight."

A let out a deep sigh and rubbed his forehead. "You might be right Dodai, if that is the case how do we move forward?"

X threw out an idea. "What if you come out sticking to your guns, and then eventually move just slightly on Yotsuki-san. Even if it isn't a big shift in policy it will seem like one to her since you've taken such a hard stance."

Another person took X's idea and ran with it.

"Perhaps you can agree to a very small meeting, say between Naruto and that Tenten girl that was his teammate in the 2nd round, but that it will not take place for a couple months and it will be on our terms."

A was intrigued by the idea the man he considered the best choice to be his successor threw out, and wanted to see what more he had in mind. "Interesting, but why do you think that would be enough, Darui?"

"Well boss, for Konoha it at least gets their foot in the door with Naruto. They have to know by know that the boy is loyal to us, and they can't just demand him back and expect him to be loyal to them all of a sudden. They'll probably try for a long term plan. Get him to know some Konoha people and consider them friends, convince him that all that we said about how he was treated there was a lie, then maybe they approach him about returning to his birth village. This plan opens the door to that, even if just by a centimeter."

 _He's starting to think like a Kage, but let's just make sure he's thought this through_ A thought with some pride. "Ok, and what does it do for us?"

"For us, we essentially give them nothing. The meeting would not be for a while, giving us plenty of time to coach Naruto for it, and it would be on our terms, limiting the amount of contact they actually get with him. You know as well as I do that he wants to take your hat from you, and nothing will sway him from that. He'll remain loyal. It's a win-win situation for us."

A looked over to the hat in question and thought for a moment before responding.

"I truly do believe Naruto will take that hat one day, but it will be from you, not from me Darui. I like the plan, great work."

Darui was stunned to silence by A's praise, and was unable to speak, but offered a small nod in thanks for the kind words.

"Anyone have a better idea?" A asked of Dodai, C, and X. No one moved, confirming that Darui's idea was their best plan.

A stood from the table and headed towards his room. "All right everyone, get a good night's sleep. Tomorrow will be a big day."

- _Near the Border of the Land of Lightning-_

"Why are we on an extended mission out here again, Samui-taicho? Patrols never lasted this long when I was a genin?" Karui complained.

The new Team Samui had been on an extended patrol of the border for the last couple weeks. The rough terrain and length of the mission had taken its toll on the younger members of the team.

"Well Karui, you're not a genin anymore, you're a chunin now and you need to be ready for long and boring missions like this. Welcome to the world of C Ranks." Samui said, lightly chuckling.

"But Omoi's with us and he's still a genin!" the dark skinned, red haired chunin pointed out. She was eager for the mission to wrap up so she could return to the village. She was worried about her other blond friend and former teammate.

"True, but he's considered an elite genin at this point, and between the length of this mission and the fact that the village is on lock down this mission is considered a B-rank." the Jonin team leader stated.

"What's that got to do with him?" her chunin subordinate asked.

"So uncool…." Samui muttered, not answering the question.

"It's because if Elite Genin complete 3 B ranks successfully they are eligible for a field promotion regardless of if they've participated in a chunin exam or not." The male genin in question pointed out.

Karui's eyes widened. "Really? This would be two for you then because of that B rank when we were just starting out..."

Omoi, Karui, and Naruto's first C rank had been a simple escort to the Land of Hot Springs. However it had been bumped up to a B rank due to the fact that they ran across a couple of Kusa chunin.

No fight broke out, but it had been 'touch and go' for a bit, and Kumo's rules were pretty clear that if non-allied shionibi were encountered the mission had to be a B at minimum.

"Yep, I'll just need one more after that to be eligible, and if I make it to 5 Raikage-sama will be required to promote me. I'll catch up to you and Naruto yet….If the mountain trolls don't get me."

By this point Karui was used to Omoi's strange paranoias and conspiracy theories. Samui however was not. "My subordinates are not cool, not cool at all" she muttered to herself.

This was their first mission as a team, and while she saw potential in both of them as shinobi, she didn't particularly find them interesting as people, usually preferring to keep to herself.

Their mission was part of the security protocols put in place by the Raikage due to the possibility of war breaking out with Konoha.

Just because he was trying to avoid war didn't mean he wouldn't be prepared for it. The village had tripled the number of patrols it sent out, both at the border and within the nation.

Dodai's spy network was on high alert looking for any signs of mass shinobi movement in some of the nations they'd likely be fighting if war broke out. Especially Konoha, Suna, Taki, and Kusa.

A special team, composed of some of the village's fastest runners, was prepared to hand deliver a request for aid to Iwa, as well as the minor villages aligned with Kumo.

All non essential missions had been delayed, and all shinobi on missions for clients were told to wrap up their mission as quick as possible and return.

If war came Kumo would be ready.

- _The Genbu-_

Three figures were shrouded in cloaks of chakra, one blue, one orange, and one red. Each had 5 tails that sprouted out from them.

It seemed that the orange figure was having a much harder time staying in control of the great amount of chakra he was using than the blue or red figures.

"Come on, stay with us Naru-chan" the blue mass of chakra teased, knowing it would annoy the orange, which would possibly give him something to focus on and stay in control.

"Let's go, Naruto, this training is mostly mental, don't let your brain go fragmental!" The red one rapped.

The three Kumo jinchuuriki had been training hard for the last couple of weeks, ever since A had sent them to the Genbu as a precaution.

The plan was simple, get Naruto, the orange chakra being, to the point where he could control at least 6 tails of his chakra cloak.

If he lost control both B, the rede, and Yugito, the blue, were more than capable of syncing with their bijuu, transforming themselves into a state far more powerful than anything an out of control Naruto could possibly compete with.

If war broke out one of them, likely Yugito as the weaker of the two, would remain on the Genbu looking after the Yotsuki, while the other, likely B, would head to the front lines to either eliminate Suna and Taki's jinchuuriki or attack one of their enemie's shinobi villages.

If really necessary Naruto would be recalled to Kumo and Yugito sent to support B.

The two 'perfect' jinchuuriki would go to great lengths to protect Naruto. B was Naruto's teacher and mentor. Yugito viewed Naruto as the little brother she never had.

Both would gladly burn any village to the ground if they threatened him. Unlike Iwa, Kumo-nin protected their own and looked after each other. This was especially true of the three jinchuuriki.

 _That's right Naruto, get strong. Kurama may not let you sync with him like Matatabi does with me, but we can at least get you stronger with the cloak. Don't you worry, we won't let anything happen to you._

- _The Next Day-_

"Well if it isn't Shibi Aburame. What happened to Jiraya, don't tell me after what you learned the other day you decided to fire him Tsunade?" A joked outwardly, but inwardly he was not particularly happy about Konoha's switch up.

 _Jiraya is well known, and easy to read. The Aburame on the other hand are notoriously difficult to read unless you spend a lot of time around them._ _Really having their damn clan head at the negotiating table is a much better move than a perverted old lecher._ _If he's here I'm assuming he knows of Torune's defection, and likely is none too happy with Kumo. Dodai and I need to be careful._

Shibi stared back at him, unmoving. Or at least A thought he was staring back, he couldn't tell what Shibi's eyes were doing behind the sunglasses.

"I am glad to be here, Raikage-dono. That's because I believe there is an outcome that can be amicable to both sides."

"I'm sure you'll find the proposal we made to the Hokage on the first day of this conference more than amicable." Dodai

"I have reviewed your proposal, and while I can see how it would be generous from your perspective, I'm afraid it is not from Konoha's. That's because you make no mention of Naruto-san, and your economic proposal is somewhat lacking."

"Lacking?!" Dodai roared incredulously." "How could that proposal be lacking?" Shibi simply stood there, cool, calm, and composed. His response was utterly void of emotion.

"You must understand it from Konoha's perspective, Dodai-san. While it is true that your metals and imports are enticing The Land of Fire is the single wealthiest of the Elemental Nations. Your economic proposal would not do much for us. We are more concerned with Naruto-san and military cooperation."

It was only partially a bluff. A trade deal for the metals and exports was very enticing, and the Land of Fire would benefit from one, but Konoha wasn't desperate enough to give up their bijuu just for a trade deal.

The Kumo delegation could barely contain their emotions. Rage for A and Dodai, borderline fear for Darui and C, only X truly kept his cool. Shibi's admission that Konoha didn't really care about the economic situation made things much more difficult for them.

But the Aburame head was not done. Ever since Tsunade had revealed that Naruto was alive and in the Hidden Cloud he and Shikaku had been doing their own independent research. They had combined their knowledge shortly before Shibi and the rest of the delegation returned to the land of Iron.

"I think your economic proposal is something similar to what your Daimyo has been trying to set up with ours yes? I understand he is quite desperate for such an agreement. That's because your nation's economy is rather unstable at the moment.

Tsunade sat back and grinned as she saw how uncomfortable the Raikage was becoming. _Mental Note: Have an Aburame with me whenever I have to negotiate something. They're shrewd negotiators and they have great poker faces."_ _I bet he could get civilian negotiators to actually soil themselves by letting out some of his bugs while he spoke._

"If you would soften your position on Naruto-san I'm sure Tsunade-sama would be more than happy to speak to the Daimyo about a potential trade agreement with the Land of Lightning. That's because, she's not unreasonable."

"What did you have in mind?" A asked, Shibi's destruction of his economic arguments essentially forcing him to concede defeat on the idea of Naruto being non-negotiable.

The Hokage saw this as the opportune moment to re-assert herself into the negotiations. "We want a meeting with Naruto. Just people who are his friends or have looked out for him. Shibi, Kakashi, Tenten, Shino, and Ino."

 _Hmmm, it's a similar idea to what we were prepared to offer them, but with more people, I can work with this._ A noted.

"I'm willing to agree right now if it is cut down to just the girl he was teamed with in the 2nd Exam. Otherwise we'll need to add some stipulations if you want him to meet with that many people."

"And those stipulations?"

"The meeting will take place in 6 months in Kumo. You will bring no weapons, and Naruto will have armed guards looking out for him in the room with you. Other than this meeting any interactions between the Yotsuki Clan and Konoha, other than fluke meetings in the field, will have to be arranged in advance and with the full consent of Naruto, the Yotsuki Clan, and myself."

"May I ask why we must wait six months?"

"Of course Aburame-san. While it is true that you and the others mentioned have treated him far better than most from your village, Naruto still has a lot of emotional trauma he deals with relating to Konoha. We will need time to allow him to prepare. Also, Naruto is out of the village on an assignment at the moment, and may not be back for a couple months."

Dodai's response was part truth and part lie, and everyone knew it. That being said it seemed that they had met their objective for the day. Konoha got just a slight crack in the metaphorical door, and Kumo yielded that they had to open said door somewhat, but were able to keep the opening as small as possible.

"Agreed." Tsunade said tersely. She still wasn't particularly happy with the agreement, but it at least got Konoha on the right track. Given the looming threat of an impossible war it was perhaps the best that she could expect.

 _It seems the shinobi have finally figured out whatever that other issue they had to work out was. Maybe now we can finally get on to the terms of a military agreement. This whole thing makes me glad we stay isolated from the likes of them._ Thought the obviously relieved Samurai mediator, who had been in over his head since Mifune had delegated the duty of being the mediator for the days meetings.

With the issue of Naruto settled, if only temporarily, the two sides found it relatively easy to reach an agreement on the rest of their points.

In principle the two sides agreed to a mutual defensive pact, which was to be kept secret in order to prevent Kumo's tenuous relationship with Iwa from disintegrating.

They also agreed to have a series of further meetings over the coming months to establish a joint task force aimed at threats such as Orochimaru and the Akatsuki.

Tsunade promptly put in a good word about the Land of Lightning with the Fire Daimyo, and that got the economic discussions kickstarted, thought the two ninja villages largely stayed out of those negotiations as they were a matter of nation to nation relationships, not village to village.

In preparation for their upcoming meeting with Naruto Shino, Ino, and Tenten were promptly briefed on just who the boy they knew as 'Z' was, why he was important, and sworn to secrecy about it.

Needless to say it came as quite a shock to the three of them, and they were all just a little embarrassed about what their village had done.

Shino and Tenten especially seemed impacted. Naruto was supposed to have been Shino's brother. Now his adoptive brother Torune and his should have been brother Naruto were both in Kumo after having been mistreated in Konoha. It was a lot to take in for him.

Tenten learned that she and Naruto had actually been in the same orphanage until he had been kidnapped. She was older than him, but only by a year and hadn't even been three when he had left the village.

She had no memory of him. Still, they could have grown up as friends if it weren't for the hatred he had faced in the village. Even though it wasn't her fault she felt incredibly guilty.

Ino too was shocked by what she had learned, but her own personal interactions with the boy named Z had been much less significant than either Shino or Tenten, so she wasn't as impacted.

That was until she found out that her father had been willing to offer her as a bride to him. That got a major reaction from her. One that almost put her father in the hospital.

- _The Land of Lighting, Moving Towards Kumogakure-_

The three jinchuuriki were making their way towards Kumo, as the message informing them of the agreement between the two Kage had also recalled them to the village.

Naruto had very mixed feelings when he got word of the agreement from B, who had read it in the note delivered by a messenger bird.

On one hand Konoha was not demanding his return, and the people he was going to meet with were all people that had proven that they didn't hate him.

On the other hand, A's message had said that Konoha had likely not given up on trying to get him back, and were probably adopting some long term plan to win back his loyalty through kindness or love.

In Naruto's mind that meant that Konoha was manipulating these people who genuinely cared for him, and was making them pawns in their plan to get the Kyuubi back.

It only further cemented his loyalty to Kumo and made him even more untrusting of Konoha as a whole.

 _Shibi Aburame and Kakashi Hatake. You were some of the few to actually care for me when I was in Konoha. Shino-san, Ino-chan, Tenten-chan. I actually consider the three of you friends. I'll find a way to make sure that being manipulated by your village doesn't come back to haunt you, I'll save you from the evils of your home. After all if I can't help friends how can I expect to be a good Raikage? Belive it!_

-End of Chapter-

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It feels really good to finally be done with this chapter! I'm been working on it since December, and it seemed like every time I built some momentum I would run into some writers block on how to approach a part of it, and would make absolutely no progress for a few weeks. Here it is, March, and I'm finally done with it!

The only (intentional) reference in chapter 13 was the classic line "I have a bad feeling about this" which appears in some way, shape, or form in all sorts of Star Wars content.

I've received a number of very positive reviews of this story so far this calendar year, so thank you.

Here are some responses to selected questions/comments from PMs and reviews. I'm probably going to make this a regular/semi-regular thing. No guarantees I'll address all PMs/reviews here, just selected ones that I feel like answering or discussing. Longer questions/comments will be paraphrased, not quoted.

Q: What does Jiraya's lack of a relationship with Naruto mean for the whole child of prophecy thing?

A: Good question. Honestly, I am not sure. That was never going to be a central element of this story, and I hadn't really thought about it until you brought it up. Naruto is not a toad summoner (He summons owls as seen in the first part of the Chunin Exams), and while I do plan on having him meet and speak to Jiraya at some point he's never going to be Jiraya's apprentice. I will think about this, and may include it in some way in the future, but don't expect it to become a major plot point.

Q: Will Hinata end up branded with the caged bird seal?

A: She redeems herself a bit in that last Interlude, so perhaps she'll escape it. That being said, I don't really have any plans involving her at this time, so outside of maybe the occasional Interlude appearance I don't think we'll be seeing too much of her in the future. Again, it's nothing against Hinata or NaruHina, as I'm neutral on her and that pairing, just not really in the plans for this story.

Comment: Please do not let Orochimaru end up with an army of Uzumaki Bodyguards!  
Response: Given that he only has 1 Uzumaki, and she is female, Orochimaru's plans for the Uzumaki would take a lot longer to set up than his plans for the Uchiha. Sasuke can get a bunch of people pregnant in a relatively short period of time, Karin can't. I don't remember the exact wording that Kabuto used in the interlude, but the intention is that Orochimaru wants the Uzumaki to be built up in as natural of a way as possible. No experiments, brainwashing, etc. That's all being reserved for the Uchiha. Even if Orochimaru were to succeed an 'army' of Uzumaki would still be decades away. Well beyond the scope of this story. Might there be some Uzumaki-Uchiha hybrid babies at some point? Sure, it's plausible. But a whole 'army?' That couldn't happen until decades after where I'm thinking this story will end.

Q: Am I reading too much into this, or do you seem to be laying the groundwork to set up NarutoxTenten or NarutoxKurotsuchi?  
A: I can't stress enough that no decisions have been made in regards to permanent pairings other than ShikaTema and KarinxSasuke, but no you're not reading too much into it. Those two were put on Naruto's team in the 2nd round of the exams because they are two of about 5 or 6 characters that I am considering for a Naruto pairing in the future. Though giving Naruto a romance remains a low priority for me, as I suck at writing romance. No, I will not reveal the other 3 or 4 characters I'm considering, but if you read carefully you might be able to guess at a couple of them.

(Multiple) Comment(s): Poor Itachi! Poor Hinata! Poor Sasuke!

Response: I understand that these are popular characters, and that many people rank them amongst their favorite characters. While I don't, I also have nothing against them and didn't create this story with the intention of making them go through the things they go through in the story, it just happened that way. Also Itachi hasn't really appeared. I get that what happens to Sasuke ruins Itachi's plans, and thus 'poor Itachi' but he hasn't even made an appearance.

Q: Is the Hokage Guard Platoon gonna spill the beans on Naruto's heritage?  
A: No. I'm assuming that becoming the Hokage's body guard includes signing confidentiality agreements. They're well trained and disciplined shinobi, they won't spill the beans.

That's all for now, until next time.

Thanks for reading,

\- Col. Bogey


	22. Chapter 15: A Meeting and a Mission

-I don't own Naruto. Naruto was created by Kishimoto, please support the official release. Thanks for reading my first attempt at fan fiction-

 _Italics are thoughts. -Italics inside hyphens are the setting-_

* * *

- _Kumogakure, Several Months Later-_

Once again the Hidden Cloud was on lockdown. No one got in or out without A's express approval. The air was thick with tension.

A heavily armed column of ANBU walked down the middle of the main village thoroughfare, surrounding a group of people they were escorting.

When these people had shown up at the gates they were thoroughly searched for weapons and other contraband before they were allowed into the village under an armed escort.

They had been taken to a hotel, which was also under a lockdown with no one allowed in or out without the approval of the Raikage. It was surrounded by its own dedicated force of Jonin and ANBU.

The travelers had rested there for a night, before being brought before the Raikage himself the next day.

A had made a grand show of force, pulling still more well known Jonin and some ANBU to act as guards in his office. Even his assistants and advisors, such as Darui, Dodai, Mabui, and C had come to the tower that day armed to the teeth.

The message was crystal clear, 'don't try anything funny.'

Two days later the travelers found themselves in the middle of the ANBU column again as they marched towards the Yotsuki Compound. After months it was finally time for their meeting with Naruto.

Shibi and Kakashi hadn't really been intimidated by Kumo's show of force, but their three young companions certainly were.

As they entered the Yotsuki compound they found that nearly every shinobi in the Clan was watching them, glaring.

Seeing the three youngest members of the Konoha delegation so obviously intimidated Kakashi tried to lighten the mood. "Well, this seems like a warm welcome, huh?"

His poor joke did not help. All it did was cause Shibi to give him a look that said 'are you an idiot?' Not that Kakashi could tell as Shibi's sunglasses obscured his eyes.

The Konoha delegation entered a building to find themselves face to face with an ensemble of notable Kumo shinobi and Yotsuki Clan members.

A, B, Yugito, Darui, Omoi, Karui, Gennai, Naruto's Parents, Dodai, it truly seemed to the leaf ninja that the whole of Kumo was trying to protect Naruto and intimidate them.

In an attempt to ease the tension Shibi offered up an idea. "Perhaps it would be best if our three youngest representatives speak to Naruto-san alone first while Kakashi-san and I wait out here, after all Naruto-san is more likely to be comfortable with them than with us.

"A good idea, Aburame-san." Gennai said, he knew that his nephew was very nervous about this whole meeting, but that a part of Naruto was actually looking forward to seeing the three younger Konoha-nin again, especially Tenten, who he considered a good friend.

"Please, enter." Koshiro opened a door and gestured for the trio to enter the room. After they did he shut the door and went back to watching Kakashi and Shibi, who had taken seats in some chairs. The adults stared at each other in awkward and uncomfortable silence while the teens met inside.

Shino, Ino, and Tenten stepped into a room with several chairs sitting around a small table. On the table were some light refreshments. Naruto sat in one of the chairs, and a brown haired Kunoichi sat with her back against the wall on the far side of the room.

Naruto offered a small smile as the three entered the room. "Shino-san, Ino-chan, Tenten-chan. It's good to see you again."

"Z-kun!" Tenten grinned as she went over to the boy who had saved her life and gave him a hug.

Naruto returned the embrace. "There's no need for the codename, Tenten-chan. I'm assuming the three of you were told all about me."

"Indeed we were, Uzumaki-san. It was especially moving for me. Why? Because I'm told my father tried to adopt you several times. Upon learning this I came to the realization that I was cheated out of having a brother."

Naruto frowned slightly. "I'm glad to see you, Shino-san, and I'm sure you would have been a great brother, but please don't call me that. I'm not an Uzumaki, I'm a Yotsuki."

"Very well, my apologies... Yotsuki-san." "Z...Naruto-kun, is that your girlfriend over there keeping an eye on us?" Ino asked.

Both Kumo shinobi chuckled before Naruto responded. "No, that's my cousin Hikari, she's the Yotsuki Clan heiress just like you're the Yamanaka heiress, Ino-chan. But you're right about the keeping an eye on me thing, she is here to make sure no one from Konoha does anything to me."

Hikari gave a slight nod and a scowl to the Konoha chunin. She knew Naruto considered all three of them friends, but she wasn't taking any chances with her cousin's safety.

Still, she wasn't planning on getting involved in their conversations unless they did something to Naruto or he became uncomfortable with the situation.

"Naruto-kun, you saved my life, I know you have every reason to be suspicious of us because of your history with our village, but I owe you, I could never be a threat to you. I'm told we were in the same orphanage. I'm too little to remember it, but I'd like to think that if you had stayed I would have been your big sister of sorts."

"Tenten-chan, I'm sure you would have been and thank you. You're right. I don't really like Konoha, and don't really trust anyone else from your village, but the three of you are my friends and you have no reason to apologize to me. For now let's just catch up."

And catch up they did. They talked about their lives since the chunin exams. Naruto congratulated the three konoha nin on their promotions to chunin. Especially Ino, whose promotion had come just a couple weeks before the meeting at the most recent round of exams. They in turn congratulated him.

He was impressed that Tenten was being mentored in Fuinjutsu and Kenjutsu, Ino in Medical ninjutsu and Genjutsu, and that Shino and Tenten both already had missions as squad captains under their belts.

That being said he could not help but scowl as Tenten discussed her training with Jiraya. Naruto knew just who the man was, what his relationship to him was, and what he had been doing when Naruto needed him the most.

Needless to say even though Naruto had never met Jiraya, the Toad Sage was one of his least favorite people.

His conversation partners were in turn impressed when he discussed his own training regime, though he conveniently left out any mention of Bijuu training. They talked about their lives and daily routines. Friends, Family, normal topics of conversation.

After a half an hour there was a knock on the door, before it opened and several more figures entered the room. A few Yotsuki Clan chunin and jonin entered first and move to sit down against the wall next to Hikari.

After them came Shibi and Kakashi who sat down in the remaining chairs around the table, and following them came Yugito, who stood in front of the door as if to block any escape attempt by the Konoha-nin in the event that they tried to kidnap Naruto.

Naruto took the opportunity to have some fun with his fellow jinchuuriki, if only to lighten the mood. "Here to babysit me like old times, Yugito-nee?"

This got the expected scowl from her and laughs from his fellow clan members. A had wanted Naruto to grow up considering his fellow jinchuuriki close siblings, so Yugito had often babysat the boy when he was young.

B wanted to as well, but had been deemed to immature to be trusted with small children.

Several times as a very small child he had vomited on Yugito while she was watching him, not that he could remember that far back. Her bad luck when on Naruto-sitting duty was somewhat of a legend amongst her friends and the Yotsuki Clan.

When Naruto turned 5 he became an absolute nightmare to babysit, constantly bouncing off the walls and driving his sitters crazy. By that time Yugito had already become attached to the boy, but still found it infuriating to no ends.

The laughter from the various Yotsuki clan members caused the mood in the room to lighten considerably, the Konoha shinobi were confused and Yugito was annoyed, but it put everyone else in a much better mood.

Hoping to get started, Kakashi cleared his throat to speak, but Naruto beat him to the punch.

"Before the two of you offer any apologies about my treatment in your village on behalf of your Hokage or your council, or even on behalf of yourselves because you think you failed me, don't bother."

Naruto's vocal tone became slightly darker, and his expression more serious as he spoke.

"I have no intention of accepting any apology from your council or your Hokage."

He then shifted, the darkness and seriousness became softness and a solemn expression. "And the two of you have no need to apologize to me, rather I should be thanking you."

In a move that none of the Konoha shinobi expected Naruto stood and bowed to Kakashi. "Hatake-san, if it weren't for your diligence when I was a baby I likely wouldn't have survived to see my second birthday. Thank you for watching over me."

He then repeated the motion with Shibi. "Aburame-dono. I know you weren't successful, but thank you for at least trying to adopt me, it's nice to know not everyone in that village hates me." 'That' was said with particular scorn, making it clear to the two of them just how he felt about Konoha as a whole.

Naruto had no problems making exceptions for individual Leaf Village residents, such as the 5 sitting at around the table, but as a whole it was a place he felt great anger for.

He then returned to his seat and looked at the 5 Leaf Ninja sitting with him. "What Konoha did to me was unforgivable, and nothing can change that. However, the 5 of you, along with your wife, Aburame-dono, have no need to apologize or ask for forgiveness. You are exempt from the hatred and fear I feel towards your village."

There was silence for several moments, as no one quite knew what to say. Finally Kakashi spoke up. "Well, if we don't need to convey the message that we were assigned to convey, then let me just say that your biological parents loved you, Naruto. I was around Kushina and Minato-sensei a lot when you were on the way, and they were so excited."

Naruto smiled, and his voice again grew soft, though with a fondness too it that had not been their before "Yeah, I know, Kushina-kaa-chan told me."

The reaction was instant, all 5 of his companions looked at him as if they had just seen a ghost. Shibi was the one who put words to the thoughts on all of their minds. "Naruto-san, you say you spoke to Kushina-sama? How is that possible? She's dead."

"Apparently when my tenant was sealed inside me the seal also took in chakra from both my biological parents. It was set to allow my parents to appear before me if….certain conditions were met." Again, Naruto avoided going into specifics about his progress as a jinchuuriki, and avoided looking in the eyes of the Konoha nin.

"Unfortunately it is just a one time thing, but it was nice to talk to my biological mother. I haven't met Minato-oto-san yet..."

"Amazing" Kakashi was truly floored by this development, "Sensei and his wife were always the best with Fuinjutsu, but I'm still impressed he was able to do something like that given that this was during the Nine-Tails attack and he had to restrain the fox while drawing the seal."

"Yeah," Naruto said, with a little sorrow in his voice. "I know my biological parents were pretty great shinoibi, and Kushina-kaa-chan seemed really nice." He gained more determination as he shifted the talk from his biological parents to his actual parents.

"But Kaa-chan and Oto-san are pretty great too! They took me in and raised me as their own. They gave me the home that Konoha refused to give me, though not for lack of trying by some people of course." he nodded to Shibi and Shino as he finished his statement, making it clear that he was referring to the Aburame with his last comment.

"Yes, I'm sure they are and I'm personally grateful to the Yotsuki Clan for taking you in, otherwise I'd probably be dead right now." Tenten was happy he had a family, but as a fellow orphan she was also slightly jealous of him. Still, he did save her life and she did owe him for that.

"Anyways, Naruto-san. I hate to get back to business but I must. That's because there was one other thing we were asked to convey to you besides an apology from the council."

Naruto tensed up, causing all of the other Kumo shinobi to tense up as well, most making an obvious motion to make sure their weapons were handy.

Before Shibi could continue Ino butted in. "I've got one too actually. You remember my two teammates for the exam, Choji Akimichi and Sakura Haruno? they ate with us in the hotel that one time."

Naruto did remember them and said as much. "Well they don't know anything about what I'm doing here, or about your past, but when they heard I was coming to the Land of Lighting they asked that if I saw you I'd tell you that they say hello. Choji also wanted me to tell Tomato-chan hi, but I haven't seen her since I got here."

Naruto smiled recalling how much Karui hated the nickname Ino and Sakura had given her when they were on the same team in the second round of exams. "Karui-chan is on a mission right now, she got promoted at the same time I did and we've both been really busy, but I'll pass along Choji-san's message next time I see her."

 _Choji and Sakura were both nice to me too. That Neji guy though, he was a piece of work. Still, maybe I should add Choji and Sakura to the list of people from Konoha who I don't hate._

Ino nodded gratefully, ever the gossip she added: "good, to be honest I think Choji kinda likes her, and as much as I can't stand her, Choji's like my brother, and I'm rooting for him."

Naruto laughed, but before he could respond Shibi spoke. "Now that Yamanaka-san has passed along her message I would like to pass along mine."

The temporary break in the tension was over, it ramped back up quickly, no one but Shibi and Kakashi knew what the message was.

Shibi cleared his throat before speaking again. "Hokage-sama and Jiraya-sama would like to have the opportunity to speak to you sometime. I am unsure if you are aware of your relationship to them but..."

Naruto snarled and interrupted him, yelling out. "Oh I'm aware of what those two think of me as, but where were they when I needed godparents? Huh? Where were they! As far as I'm concerned I have no godparents, and I never want to speak to either of them!"

Tenten looked a little downcast at his reaction. After she had been briefed on Naruto her master had pulled her aside to speak with her. Jiraya had quickly broken down in tears and told his student everything. His greatest guilt and regret was his abandonment of Naruto.

The two of them would be meeting up at the Land of Lightning's borders right after this mission, and rather than returning to Konoha, the Toad Sage and his weapon and fuinjutsu specialist apprentice were going on a training trip for a few months. Tenten knew her master would be heartbroken at Naruto's reaction, and the disowning of him as the boy's godfather.

Motivated by his failures, Jiraya had been an exceptional mentor and teacher to the girl, and she had been really hoping to make his day by telling him that Naruto was willing to speak with him.

All he wanted was a chance to say how much he regretted his actions, but it seemed that he wouldn't get the chance.

Shortly after Naruto's outburst the Konoha Shinobi were out of time, having only been given an hour in total to meet with Naruto.

They were quickly escorted from the compound. The three chunin were taken to their Hotel, while the two jonin were brought before the Raikage. At that meeting Shibi made an inquiry about Torunae, the Aburame Foundation ANBU who had been turned into a Kumo spy.

A refused to allow Shibi to see him, but assured him that his surrogate son was in fact alive and doing well.

The next day the 5 Konoha Shinobi were marched to Kumo's gates, where they were surprised that Naruto was waiting. He had come to say good bye to them of his own free will, after all, Konoha or not, they were his friends.

After that they were shadowed by an entire battalion of Jonin as they made their way to the borders of the Land of the Lightning.

Once there they met with Jiraya, who was devastated at Naruto's reaction, but never-the-less took Tenten off to catch a boat. Their training trip was starting in the Land of Water, given the instability and civil war in that nation he wanted to check in with his spy network's contacts there.

This would also be one of his last extended trips outside of Konoha. Tsunade was forcing him to base himself in Konoha and run things from there. He hoped to introduce Tenten to his contacts so that she could serve as a go between if necessary.

When Shibi and Kakashi briefed Tsunade and her closest advisors, they could only conclude that the whole incident had been a mixed bag for Konoha.

On the positive side they had confirmed that their jinchuuriki was still alive, that despite what had happened to him he didn't hate everyone in Konoha, and they had been able to dispose of Danzo.

That had been relatively easy. Once all the over villages who had spies in the Foundation learned of Torune's actions they had pulled their spies out, leaving Danzo with only a skeleton force.

With Danzo's force so depleted it had been easy for some of Tsunade's own ANBU to sneak into his headquarters and put chakra cancelling tags on him as he slept, while others assaulted the building, killing his remaining forces.

With Danzo unable to use Chakra he was essentially helpless, and once Tsunade got a look at what was underneath the bandages he wore, his fate was sealed. Not even his fellow village elders had been able to stave off his execution, which had come at the hands of a certain wood-style possessing former Foundation member, poetic justice as far as the Hokage was concerned.

Still that didn't stop his fellow hardliners from continuing on his political legacy. The very next council meeting they had argued that since Konoha had lost its jinchuuriki and no one was sure what had happened to the Kyuubi they should think about acquiring another Tailed Beast.

Their suggestion was to take advantage of the chaos in the Land of Water to steal one of Kiri's. Even though she knew the truth, Tsunade had liked the idea, and that was part of the reason Jiraya was starting Tenten's training trip there.

She also thought Kiri was a good excuse to better the relationship between the Villages hidden in the Leafs and Clouds.

When Shibi, Kakashi, and the others left for Kumo they had also carried a letter from Tsunade to A, thanking him again for allowing the delegates to meet with Naruto, and proposing joint cooperation in actions regarding the Land of Water. Though she conveniently left out her villages hopes of acquiring a new Bijuu.

- _Two Weeks After Naruto Met With The Konoha Shinobi-_

For about a week after the 5 Konoha representatives left the Cloud Village had been back to normal, but then people began to notice the initial signs of a mobilization. Had things deteriorated? Was Kumo going to war with Konoha after all?

- _The Raikage Tower, 10am-_

Naruto walked into the Raikage's office to find that, in addition to A and his normal cast advisors and bodyguards, Yugito and Team Samui were present as well. Naruto hadn't seen his old genin teammates in a few weeks, and was happily reunited with them.

"Baka-kun!" Karui shouted, embracing him. "You survived meeting with those Konoha bastards!" "Oh, come on now, Karui-chan. You know they could never beat me! Besides the people I met with are some of the few leaf-nin who aren't bastards. Also, I have a message for you from one of them."

"Oh?" Karui looked intrigued, there were only a couple of people from Konoha she had ever met, and she didn't think any of them cared enough to have Naruto pass along a message.

Naruto grinned, curious to see how she'd react. "Ino Yamanaka said that she misses her Tomato-chan" Karui immediately frowned, but before she could yell out Naruto continued, "and she said that Choji Akimichi wanted you to know that he says hi and congrats on getting the promotion. Ino-chan seems to think he likes you."

Karui had a slight blush on her face after hearing Naruto's last two sentences. "C-Choji-kun likes me?" She hadn't had much of a chance to interact with the boy other than their fight in the tournament, but she did think he was sweet, and to her knowledge no one had ever expressed interest in her before."

"Stuttering over a boy...so uncool. My subordinates are the definition of uncool." Samui grumbled. All this talk of happy things and possible romance was cramping the normally ice cold kunoichi's style.

"Keep in mind that Ino-chan doesn't know that for sure, she just suspects it. But I'm sure you remember from our lessons on the other villages during the Academy how close the Akimichi and Yamanaka clans are, from what I understand those two, along with a Nara, were practically raised together. I'm sure she has a good read on him."

Karui wasn't quite sure how to react, but before she could really process her thoughts A decided he had had enough of the gossip. "All right, calm down, I understand you guys were genin teammates but catch up after this, I have a mission for all of you."

"Hai, Raikage-sama"

Hearing their response A stopped glaring at Naruto and Karui, and looked over all five of the shinobi in front of him.

"As you know the Land of Water is embroiled in a civil war that was started when the Mizukage tried to purge his village of any clan holding a Kekkai Genkkai. This split the village. The Bloodline clans, and also many of the secret technique clans rebelled, and were joined by some non-clan shinobi. The war has been going on for a couple of years now. However the Hokage and I have decided to intervene on humanitarian grounds."

"Humanitarian grounds?" Yugito repeated, confused "so are we taking the rebels' side or the village's side?"

"Neither" Darui answered. "Officially we are declaring war on both groups in order to defend the civilians. A combined Cloud-Leaf force is going to secure islands one at a time."

"The plan is simple," Dodai said, "Once our forces land on an island we will order all fighting on that island cease, anyone who disobeys will be eradicated regardless of where their loyalties lie."

"We don't actually care about the civilians of course, they aren't ours. This is a great opportunity to weaken Kiri, they are the most unpredictable and isolationist of the villages. In the last war they attacked both sides, so both Kumo and Konoha have bad blood with them. Darui will command our forces, and will have joint command with Konoha's commander, Tsume Inuzuka." A summed things up.

"However, the 5 of you are not being assigned to this task force for that purpose." X said, motioning to Yugito, Naruto, Karui, Samui, and Omoi.

"Your assignment is two fold. Team Samui will work to find bloodline holders and bring them to Kumo. You can bribe them, kidnap them, promise them multiple spouses or sex slaves, it doesn't really matter. Just get them here so that they can produce a new generation of their clan that will be loyal to us."

Dodai looked at the two jinchuuriki. "Yugito and Naruto are tasked with tracking down the Six-Tails Jinchuuriki, Utakata. According to J my sources he's gone to great lengths to stay out of the war. Again, you are to bring the six tails to Kumo. Wether Utakata comes willingly, you kidnap him, or you unseal and reseal the beast into another vessel is of no concern at this time."

"Even though you have separate assignments I want the 5 of you to work together as a group." A said, making eye contact with all of them. "Samui will be in command for bloodline missions and Yugito will be in command for Tailed Beast Missions. Needless to say, no one is to know what your true mission is."

Darui then took over the briefing. "I'll be the only person in the task force who knows what your missions are, and you'll report to me with any developments, including reporting to me immediately when you secure a target. Depending on how long we are in Kiri I may give you other missions to prevent other Kumo, or even worse Konoha, shinobi from getting suspicious of you.

"Team Samui's mission is A-rank. Team Yugito's mission is S-rank. Any questions? A was wrapping up the briefing. Naruto raised his hand. "Why isn't B-sensei coming with us?"

Killer B, as his brother's top body guard, was in the office, and had been unusually silent during the whole meeting. He grinned when Naruto looked over to him, but a look from his brother that promised pain if he started rapping kept him silent.

"Due to the threat of the Akatsuki I've decided that the three of you cannot be all together unless you are in the village or at the Genbu. As the least powerful of our Jinchuuriki I've also decided that whenever Naruto is out of the village he is to be accompanied by either Yugito or B, in this case I decided to assign Yugito because I don't want your teams drawing attention to you, and my brother doesn't know the meaning of the word subtle."

There were several laughs at B's expense before A finally dismissed the meeting. 5 Days later a large force of Kumo Shinobi, with Darui at the head, and 5 particular shinobi in the middle of it, set out from Kumo.

They were heading towards the Land of Lightning's main port, where Kumo's naval base was located. From there they would board ships to the nation of the Land of Water to begin their island hopping campaign.

Truth be told A had wanted to do something like this for a long time, he was always on the lookout for new kekkai genkai, secret techniques and unique abilities, and the chaos in the Land of Water was the perfect opportunity.

But he could never convince his traditional allies, and was unwilling to commit enough shinobi with the looming threat of the Akatsuki. With three jinchuuriki Kumo was a prime target.

However, with Konoha supplying half the soldiers he was more than willing to do so, confident he had enough shinobi at home in case of attack. Still, his men would have to be careful.

In addition to fighting the rebels and loyal mist-nin, Teams Samui and Yugito would have to evade the suspicions of the Konoha Shinobi. A doubted the Leaf would be happy if Kumo found out the only reason they were participating was to try to acquire more Kekkai Genkai.

Tsume Inuzuka was already a jonin by the time of the 3rd Shinobi War, when she had fought with distinction and earned a place in Kumo's Bingo Book. On top of that she held a great deal of respect.

Not only because she was a Clan Head, but because she was one of the few Kunoichi who didn't retire from active duty after becoming a mother, or after becoming a Clan head for that matter.

She had years of combat experience, and until the Konoha-Kumo treaty required that they remove each other's shinobi from their Bingo Books she had been ranked as a mid A-rank Shinobi in Kumo's book.

Though technically she and Darui were co-commanders A had little doubt that the Inuzuka Matriach would establish herself as the overall commander for the operations. Darui's challenge would be to keep her from discovering what Naruto and co. were up to.

He almost didn't send Naruto, worried that Konoha might take advantage of the situation and try to reacquire the Kyuubi no Kitsune, but in the end he decided to believe. Not just in Naruto, but in his 4 teammates for the mission and in the man he thought would become the 5th Raikage.

As the last of the Kumo forces assigned to the invasion of the Land of Water disappeared from sight A left Kumo's gates and returned to his office, his brother at his side. One of his aides, Mabui, apparently knew him too well, because there was a glass of whiskey waiting for him on his desk.

As a took a sip of the strong drink he thought _Come home safe, all of you._

-End of Chapter-

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A transitional chapter to (temporarily) wrap up the whole Konoha discovers Naruto thing (Don't worry this isn't going away, we're just setting it aside for now. At minimum he will meet both Jiraya and Tsunade at some point, confront the godparents who abandoned him) and transition to a new arc/plot point.

Answers and responses to selected questions and comments from reviews and pm's.

Q: Can you describe Hikari's appearance? I don't think you have yet.

A: And I even avoided doing it again this chapter! Although at least I gave you hair color.

To be honest, I've never really thought about it. That being said I got the name from Digimon Adventure let's go with that character's appearance. I'd say google search 'Hikari Yagami.' (Or 'Kari Kamia' [english dub]) Since there are various scenes in that franchise that show her as a very very small child (the movie) all the way up to an adult (last episode of the sequel series) you should be able to get an idea of what her appearance is, just remember that she is approx. 17-18 in this story, and adjust the image accordingly. Sorry that's kind of a cop out, but I haven't really thought about it that much.

C: If anything, Orochimaru's efforts with the Uzumaki could just jumpstart Kumo's rebuilding of the Uzumaki Clan.

A: An interesting idea for sure, but the problem here stems from the fact that Naruto considers himself to be a Yotsuki, not an Uzumaki. He's not going to be interested in rebuilding the Uzumaki Clan. Of course I suppose A could always order him too, or they could just do it with out him.

Q: Will Naruto meet Hagaromo?

A: I feel like I always give non-answers to your questions bankai, and I promise it's not on purpose, it's just that for a lot of them the answer is somewhat in the air. This one is no exception. Can I see a scenario where they meet? Yes. Can I see a scenario where he doesn't appear in the story? Also yes. It depends on how deep I get with the whole eye of the moon plan/Kaguya thing.

C: Interesting.

R: I find the whole concept of Naruto being raised in a different village interesting. So many implications, be they jinchuuriki related, yondaime related, uzumaki related, Hiruzen/Jiraya/Kakashi/Hinata/Sasuke/someone else related. As I say in the description somewhere, this story was partly inspired by stories I read where Naruto was raised in Kiri, and in Suna (and I'm still looking for a good Naruto in Iwa story if anyone knows of one).

I think this update should put me over 100,000 words, and we're also getting close to 200 followers of this story, so thanks to all of you.

Thanks for reading,

-Col. Bogey


	23. Chapter 16: Objective: Kekkai Genkai!

-I don't own Naruto. Naruto was created by Kishimoto, please support the official release. Thanks for reading my first attempt at fan fiction-

 _Italics are thoughts. -Italics inside hyphens are the setting-_

* * *

- _The Land of Water-_

Dawn over a small island. In the preceding days, the island had played host to some skirmishes between two forces of shinobi, and as the sun peaked over the horizon the island became a hub of activity, as the winners of the skirmishes continued to set up a camp.

Inside a very large tent were Tsume Inuzuka and Darui, the commanders for the joint Konoha-Kumo invasion of the Land of Water.

Facing the two commanders were all the team captains assigned to the invasion, waiting for their briefing.

It had been relatively easy for the invasion force to take this island, as there was hardly any military presence from the Kiri rebels, and none from the Mizukage's forces. After the invasion force had landed the maritime supply lines were set up.

Ships hugged the coast from the Land of Lighting's largest port to the Land of Waves, their staging point. Reinforcements and supplies from the Land of Fire would travel by foot, crossing over a bridge to the same small island nation.

From there, Konoha's small navy would escort supply convoys to the island the invasion force was presently on, Parrot Island. After the supplies and reinforcements were unloaded, the invasion force's logistical officers would determine where they needed to go, and Kumo's much larger Navy would make sure the troops and supplies reached whatever islands they were needed at.

As the Raikage predicted, Tsume had used her position as a clan head and status as a veteran of the last war to take overall command, with Darui being in charge of special forces missions. This arrangement actually made it easier for him to discreetly assign missions to the special team that Naruto was on, so he didn't complain too much.

In the couple of days since landing on the island, Naruto had thus far avoided the Konoha portion of the basecamp, and stayed close by his team at all times, aware that while unlikely, Konoha may try to use the chaos of the invasion as a cover to make a move on him. He was not present at the briefing, as that was limited to team leaders.

When Tsume finished her briefing she headed back to her command tent, and Darui to his. Yugito and Samui followed the Raikage's potential successor back to his tent, knowing there was an additional briefing for the two of them.

When they were all seated Darui started his briefing for the two kunoichi with a warning.

"All right you two, first things first. Tsume-san confirmed to me that Jiraya and his apprentice are currently in the Land of Water. Obviously Naruto is not supposed to meet Jiraya, so be on the look out. I know he's good friends with the man's apprentice, but he needs to be aware that if he see her, the Toad Sage is likely not far away."

It was a grim way to start the meeting, and Yugito and Samui both scowled. A would not be happy with them if Jiraya found a way to speak to the godson who had disowned him. It was well known to Kumo that the Sannin had been a vocal advocate of declaring war against Kumo, with their kidnapping of Naruto serving as his Cassius Belli.

Darui couldn't be certain that Jiraya wouldn't try anything if he did run into Naruto, so caution had to be exercised.

"As if that wasn't bad enough, I have two very time sensitive missions for you regarding Objective 1" Darui continued. Objective 1 was code for acquiring new bloodline abilities for Kumo, while Objective 2 referred to the pursuit of the Six Tails' Jinchuuriki.

"As you know, this is the furthest west of all of the Land of Water's islands, and is relatively remote. It seems the rebellion was stashing their academy students and genin here, and that is why we took this island so easily. They only had a few chunin and a couple jonin. At least one of the genin appears to be a member of the Hoshigaki Clan, known for their brute strength, high chakra reserves, and shark-like appearance. Raikage-sama wishes this young Shinobi to be brought to Kumo. Unfortunately, Konoha is in charge of our prisoners of war, and is preparing to ship her, along with all the other prisoners from this island, to a prison in the Land of Fire."

"So you want us to break the kid out and make it look like she just escaped." Samui said, having figured out the objective. "Correct, and sorry about this, but try to leave the guards alive, technically they are our allies here." came the response.

"And our other mission?" Yugito asked. "Jiraya and Dodai's networks both say that Kiri has been selling bloodline holding captured rebels to Orochimaru to experiment on. Apparently the Snake recently purchased a member of the Hozuki Clan, known for their ability to turn their bodies into a liquid, and there is a ship that recently departed Kirigakure bound for what we suspect is one of Orochimaru's research bases. Your mission is to intercept it, liberate the Hozuki Clan member, and make sure he gets to Kumo."

Darui then passed two folders to the pair of kunoichi jonin, containing further information on both targets, encrypted of course.

Samui sought further guidance "Any preference on how we divide our personnel for these missions?" "Nope, I leave that up to you." Darui said before dismissing them.

The two Kunoichi wandered back to towards the tent their team shared, ready to kick their subordinates out, activate the privacy seals, and draw up their plans.

The next day, their carefully laid out plans having been finished, they left to fulfill their objectives.

Yugito was an expert in stealth, but none of the chunin under her and Samui's command were particularly stealthy, so it was decided that the Two Tailed Jinchuuriki would liberate the Hoshigaki genin, while Samui would take Karui, Omoi, and Naruto in pursuit of the Oto forces brining Orochimaru's most recent acquisition to a research base.

- _Two Nights Later-_

Yugito had been sneaking around the barracks in which the enemy P. were kept for the last two days. She was paying special attention to the guard details Konoha had, and was pleased that they were mostly chunin.

It seems the Leaf didn't think it was necessary to guard a bunch of mostly academy students and genin with their ANBU. That just made her job easier.

Most Jinchuuriki were brawlers, heavy hitters. B, Naruto, and the couple of others she knew of, like Han from Iwa, were not really stealthy individuals. Not the best ninja if you will. They were out and out warriors, they were tanks.

True, Yugito was as well, but that was only due to the huge chakra reserves she had as the host of a Bijuu. Unlike B, Naruto, and the others, whose natural fighting style was that of a brawler, Yugito was really more suited for stealth.

She was an infiltrator, in fact she was Kumo's best infiltrator. Much like Jiraya she could get into just about anywhere. As a Jinchuuriki she didn't work for Dodai's intelligence network, but often found herself temporarily assigned to him when there was intelligence too difficult for his network to obtain.

Breaking into a prison guarded mostly by Chunin, with the only jonin in sight being those few held in the prison? Please, she could do that in her sleep.

After two days of reconnaissance, she made her move. Under the cover of dark she snuck past the lazy, only half paying attention guards assigned to the entrance to the barracks, throwing a pebble to cause a noise on the side of the building, drawing their attention away as she snuck past them.

She had timed it perfectly, on the inside the last shift of guards had just finished their final rounds, and she had a good twenty to thirty minutes before the next shift began theirs, as they liked to settle in for the night before going on a walk.

 _Don't they know we are in enemy territory? These guards are pathetic. Even some of the minor villages have better security than this._ Though she was thankful for the ease of the mission, she was also concerned that this lax security would end up endangering her colleagues.

Eventually, she reached the hallway that had been converted into prison cells for the genin. Staying out of sight of any prisoner who was still awake, she made her way to the far end of the hall, to the room that had been converted into the cell of her target.

Yugito looked into the cell to find a young girl of about thirteen years of age, sleeping on a small mattress in the corner. She had rough looking, blue-ish gray skin, and had clearly visible gills on her neck, telltale signs of a member of the Hoshigaki Clan, her target.

She silently picked the lock on the cell, and, with cat like tread, upon her prey she stole. The jinchuuriki placed a tag upon the girl's forehead, keeping her unconscious, and began drawing a seal on the genin, before letting out a soft sigh. She knew Kumo needed to acquire more bloodlines, but she was always hesitant to kidnap girls around this age.

The Hoshigaki girl was too old to be raised to be loyal to Kumo. If she didn't willingly agree to join she'd probably spend the rest of her life in forced unconsciousness, not even waking with the birth of yet another child possessing the bloodline. Something Yugito wouldn't wish on anyone.

That being said Yugito was loyal to her home, and would do what was required, even if the potential consequences disgusted her. As she finished her work, and sealed the young shark like kunoichi into a scroll, she offered a silent prayer that the girl would join Kumo willingly. That would give her the best chance of living a 'good' life.

Taking a moment to mentally center herself and refocus, she thought about the good that would come to the village from having a branch of the Hoshigaki Clan amongst Kumo's shinobi forces in the future. They were powerful warriors, one of them was even amongst the most infamous wanted criminals in the elemental nations, though Kisame had been thoroughly disowned by his clan for his actions.

Eventually, as if nothing had even happened, she snuck out into the night, having left a body double that looked like something a genin prisoner could make with their limited skill and resources. Konoha wouldn't notice the girl's absence until someone noticed she wasn't eating her meals.

- _The Next Day-_

Due to the classified nature of their missions, a special ship was kept for the exclusive use of the combined Team Yugito/Samui, and Samui and the three chunin had been aboard it for two days, scouring the seas near the last known location of Orochimaru's ship.

The plan was simple, once they found their target the Ship's captain, known by the code name Theta, would order his crew to open fire on the enemy ship and disable it, then Team Samui would join the crew in boarding the ship.

Team Samui would secure the objective, while Theta and his crew would deal with the enemy forces, and if possible take some of them captive to interrogate later.

Just a couple hours ago, a lookout had spotted another ship heading west towards the continent, but it was far off in the distance, just barely in range of the spy glass used to detect it. So it impossible to identify the ship. Slowly, the Kumo ship gained on the unknown boat, helped along by Naruto's use of wind style jutsu on the sails.

The look out had finally been able to confirm that the captain of the enemy ship was a missing-nin from the bingo book who was known to work for Orochimaru, they had found their target. Team

Samui and the crew of the ship that were not needed to keep it on course began preparing for battle.

Naruto put as much wind style as he could into the sails without risking them breaking, and the ship began to gain more ground on their target. All the while Samui and Theta stood at the wheel, discussing strategy. As primarily short range fighters, Karui and Omoi would be pretty useless for the first portion of the battle, so they helped prepare the ship for combat.

Another thirty minutes went by until Samui called out "Long range jutsu specialists, take your positions." The crew responded to her commands, and those who knew long range jutsu lined up on the port and starboard railings.

"Now hear this, Now hear this! Our goal is not to sink that ship. We want to board her and secure our prize. Aim for their masts, sails, and the enemy shinobi firing back at us. Do no, I repeat, do not, aim for the hull. Am I clear?" The captain called out.

"Hai, Theta-Taicho!" the crew called back. All the while Naruto was scaling the masts, getting into position for what would be the Kumo ship's trump card.

"Port side open fire!" Samui called out the order and the shinobi in question responded immediately, hands flying through signs. "Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!" "Lighting Style: Thunderbolt Jutsu!" "Lightning Style: Lightning Bullet Jutsu!"

The attacks raced towards the Oto ship, some missing their targets and blowing past or simply falling harmlessly into the water, others tore some of the sails, but the damage was not enough to cripple the ship.

Using his spy glass, Theta noticed a number of shinobi on the enemy ship running through hand signs of their own, and quickly banked the wheel hard to starboard. He was trying to present a smaller target by putting the aft, and not the wider port and starboard sides, in the line of fire. "We've got incoming fire!" he called.

Samui nodded, somehow able to keep a cool head in the middle of battle. "Ready defenses!" The shinobi who cast offensive jutsu backed off, while others, mid range specialists, ran up to the rails. As the enemy attacked, sending a mix of water and fire jutsus towards them, this new group of shinobi ran through their own hand signs. In unison they called out "Water Style: Water Wall Jutsu"

A massive wave sprang up, and absorbed most of the enemy attacks, a few got through though. One Kumo shinobi was hit with a water bullet, and the ship's lone medic was immediately treating them.

"Prepare to fire" Samui called out, and the offensive and defensive shinobi switched places. This style of combat was Kumo's standard procedure for naval battles. By separating shinobi into offensive and defensive teams it helped preserve chakra for the boarding of the enemy ship.

When Theta had lined the ship up so that it was able to fire a broadside barrage again, Samui called out "Z: Fire!" From up in the crow's nest a call of "Futon: Great Breakthrough" was heard. "Everyone else: Fire" Again a mix of jutsu roared from the rails, hot on the trail of the Futon Jutsu.

This time the Oto ship brought up its own water wall in defense, but it only absorbed Naruto's Jutsu, and there was no time for the Oto nin to cast another wall before the other jutsus pounded into their ship.

If the enemy crea was more experienced in naval combat there were several things they could have done to counter, but Theta and his crew were clearly dealing with a largely inexperienced enemy. Not surprising, the bulk of Orochimaru's forces came from minor villages, Iwa, and Konoha originally. Only Kumo and Kiri really practiced Naval Warfare.

Sure, Orochimaru had troops from the Cloud and Mist, but even with their knowledge of Naval warfare it wasn't enough to turn the tide between a crew specifically trained for Naval Combat and a crew where most of them were in their first naval battle.

The Kumo jutsu crashed into the enemy ship, tearing through the sails, and destroying a couple of masts, effectively crippling the enemy ship. "Prepare to Board!" Samui called out, and the well oiled machine that was Theta's crew began to prepare for the next phase of combat.

The Long Range specialists stepped back, and busied themselves locating Kunai and Shuriken. They would have a break from combat until the ship was in range for those weapons.

The Mid range specialists stepped up again, using the water wall jutsu to block enemy fire as the two ships moved ever closer together. The close range fighters, including Karui and Omoi, readied for their turn.

When Theta and Samui judged the two ships close enough to begin boarding maneuvers, Samui called up to the crows nest for Naruto to deploy their trump card. "Z! Distraction now!" Naruto called back, "One distraction coming right up, Samui-taicho. Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Within seconds an army of Naruto clones was cascading down from the crow's nest and onto the ocean, running across the surface of the water towards the enemy ship. The Oto shinobi began to fire on the Naruto clones, wiping scores of them out, but Naruto had made more than enough clones, and for every clone that was taken out, another stepped up to fill its place.

Once the Oto shinobi were thoroughly busy with Naruto, Samui called out "Boarding Party: Go! Everyone else, Cover Them!" Samui then jumped over the side of the ship and began running towards the enemy, Omoi, Karui, and the rest of the boarding party in hot pursuit. The Mid range shinobi called up water walls to cover their progress, and as soon as the two ships were in range of each other a volley of Kunai and Shuriken headed towards the Oto ship, as the long range specialists attempted to pick off enemy ninja.

- _Ten Minutes Later-_

Omoi and Karui fought back to back, blades drawn, as they sought out their target. Omoi had replaced the usual lollipop that he had in his mouth with several Senbon, and whenever he came across an enemy with enough kenjutsu skills to parry his strikes he would aim his own blade so that the enemy's face was uncovered before spitting a Senbon into their eye, usually causing the enemy to recoil in pain, allowing Omoi to easily decapitate them.

Karui on the other hand was using Raiton to her advantage. It was channeled into her sword, allowing it to cut through most other blades like a hot knife through butter. Not quite to the same cutting potential as a Futon infused sword, but very effective. She also had learned a jutsu that allowed her to shoot lightning bolts out of her hand, and was using that to great effect as well. The two of them cut a path across the deck, leaving nothing but death in their wake.

From the crow's nest Naruto observed the battle. _Karui-chan and Omoi seem to be doing well, that's good. Looks like Samui-taicho is engaged with the enemy captain, but she seems to be holding her own. Now let's see, if I were hiding a prisoner where would I do so? There!_

Naruto had spotted a hatch that appeared to head below deck. By this point the two ships were fairly close together, and grappling hooks had already been tossed over to the enemy ship. Naruto reached down and tossed his own hook, locking it into the enemy crow's nest. He then tied his end of the rope to the mast and gave it a quick tug to test it.

The Kumo ship's masts were taller, meaning Naruto's crow's nest was higher than the enemy's and he was able to grab a hook and put it over the rope. He then used said hook as a zip line and quickly found himself on board the enemy's ship.

As he made his way down the mast and towards the hatch he had to fight off some opponents, but he was mostly ignored. After all he looked just liked one of the clones. He used this to his advantage, and was able to incapacitate or kill a couple of the enemy sailors, but overall he focused on making it to the hatch without drawing attention to himself.

Within minutes he was below decks, searching through the mostly empty interior of the ship for his target. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed an enemy and took cover. Thankfully it didn't seem that his foe had noticed him, so Naruto began to carefully move himself into a better position.

The enemy ninja seemed to be guarding a tall cylinder of water, almost like a tank, and for a moment Naruto was confused. Suddenly, a voice came out of the tank "Seems like there's a battle going on upstairs huh? Wonder if Terumi-sama's come to liberate me?"

"Shut up you!" the Oto chunin yelled back. "You are now the property of Orochimaru-sama, and nothing more than a science experiment, you will keep your mouth shut and speak only when spoken to." "Hn. Jackass" came the voice, which caused the guard to turn around and bang his fists on the cylinder.

The vibrations caused by that action led the prisoner's kekkai genkai to temporarily fail, revealing a white haired boy in his early to mid teens. Naruto recognized him right away from the picture Samui had shown to the team in their briefing, this was the target, the boy that the Raikage wanted in order to add a new bloodline to Kumo. The younger brother of a former member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. Naruto grinned. _Found_ _y_ _ou, Suigetsu-san!_

- _Above Deck-_

Near the captain's wheel two highly trained shinobi circled each other before unleashing a flurry of punches, kicks, and other Taijutsu strikes. Samui and the Oto captain separated, sizing each other up once more as the battle raged all around them.

Overall Kumo was winning the battle, but the Oto nin were not going down easily. If it weren't for the massive wall of Naruto Clones that had led the charge, Kumo's casualties would be much higher. Only about half of the clone had actually made it onto the ship, and it only took one hit to take them down, but that was still a huge advantage.

Even if an individual Naruto clone did not defeat an enemy, it still served to either take a hit meant for a Kumo shinobi or distract the enemy so that an ally could take them out. In reality, Oto never stood a chance.

Still, the Oto captain was a different story all together. Black lines ran up and down his body, which thanks to intelligence Konoha had shared, Samui knew was due to a curse seal. He had taken out over 100 Naruto clones by himself, and had killed a couple of Kumo shinobi before she had engaged him, and their battle was about to ramp up even more.

"I'm impressed girl, you've done quite well for your self," he called, taunting her. "Let's see how you do when I take Orochimaru-sama's gift to stage 2." As soon as those words were spoken his body began to change. He grew considerably, and his skin turned a bluish green, almost turquoise. On his back a large, sharp, appendage that looked like a cross between a dorsal fin and some sort of ax blade burst forth from his spine.

His fingers merged together until they became more fin like and sharp, a cross between a knife and a fin. He did retain his thumbs though, which were also sharp like spikes. By the time the transformation was finished he looked like some sort of Shark-Sword Hybrid, and he lunged towards Samui, really only needing to make contact with her in order to cut skin.

Samui jumped out of the way, but unfortunately a Kumo chunin who had rushed to her assistance was not so fortunate, and was quickly Taijutsu out of the question against a walking blade, Samui resorted to Ninjutsu. "Lightning Style: Lightning Bullet Jutsu" Small balls of Lightning shot from her fingers and raced towards her opponent, who made no attempt to dodge them.

They found their marks and hit home, but appeared to do minimal damage. At most, her opponent seemed to be suffering only minor discomfort from her attack. "For my curse seal, Orochimaru-sama was inspired by a former associate of his, 'The Tailed-Beast Without A Tail,' Kisame Hoshigaki. My skin is tough and my chakra reserves are very high, you can't win. Surrender and it will be a swift death."

Samui gave no answer, but drew her tanto. She was going to try something very risky. Samui did not have a Futon affinity, but had long trained to add a wind manipulation to her blade, which would enhance its ability to cut. It took a lot of chakra to maintain, but after years of training she got it down.

She rushed towards her opponent, wind chakra making her prized tanto glow with a soft blue light. While not as legendary as Killer B, Samui was still one of the top kenjutsu users in a village known for a high concentration of kenjutsu specialists. Her skills were no joke.

Even going against an opponent for whom every appendage was essentially a sword, she held her own in the fierce battle, tanto swinging rapidly to deliver a strike, and then moving to block the swipe of an arm as she ducked out of the way of the arm that had blocked her original attack, before jumping back to avoid a leg or the fin.

It was truly an impressive display, she essentially had a powerful jonin captain of Oto, using stage 2 of his curse seal, in a deadlock. Even with wind chakra her opponent's skin was to rough to damage, but her skills were too good for him to be able to break her defense.

Unfortunately for Samui, time was on his side. Like the man his stage 2 seal was based on, said curse seal gave him a lot more chakra than he normally had, and the Oto captain's chakra reserves were easily above Kage Level when in Stage 2.

Not quite jinchuuriki level, but greater than any non jinchuuriki save Orochimaru and Kisame himself. He was enjoying the challenge he was receiving from this attractive looking opponent, and could afford to play for a while longer.

Samui could not afford to have the battle last much longer, after several minutes of Futon manipulation her chakra reserves were low. Even though she had the skill down, it still drained her reserves much faster than any of her other techniques. If the fight went on much longer she'd lose.

- _Below Deck-_

From the tank that held him, Suigetsu Hozuki watched as blond haired teen crept up behind his captor. _Hm. I thought this was the rebels that Orchimaru's forces were fighting, but based on this guy'_ _s outfit_ _I guess it's Kumo. What's the Cloud doing here? Guess I'll just sit back and watch, hopefully I'll find out._

He stayed silent as Naruto crept, unnoticed, up to his guard, and Suigetsu watched as a kunai was driven into the Oto-nin at the base of the neck. What Naruto did next, or rather what he said next, surprised the captive former kiri ninja. "Before I let you out of there we need to have a little talk, Hozuki-san."

While totally submerged in water it was difficult for Suigetsu to manifest his actual body, but none the less he did so, revealing himself to his potential liberator, if only for a brief moment. "When I heard the fighting up above I thought it was the rebels, but now I see a Kumo shinobi in front of me. Pray tell, who are you? What's the Hidden Cloud doing in a place like this?"

Naruto offered a slight bow, "Z Yotsuki, at your service. The reason I am here is that Kumo and Konoha have launched a joint invasion of the Land of Water." Suigetsu's eyebrows arched, intrigued by the news, but before he could respond he lost control, and his body dissipated into water.

"You'll have to excuse me, Yotsuki-san. It's rather difficult for me to maintain my form when submerged, and this seal the Sound bastards put on me makes it even more difficult since I can't control my chakra." a disembodied voice called out from the tank. "Why have your villages invaded?"

"The official reasons are to help the civilians of this nation, and to crush the nation's military power while it is distracted. I'm sure you're aware that both Cloud and Leaf have grudges with the Mist."

"And the unofficial?" the voice called back. Even though he knew of the Hozuki clan's abilities, Naruto still found it somewhat creepy to be having a conversation with a seemingly empty aquarium. "How about I ask a few questions first, Hozuki-san. What do you plan to do if I free you?"

"Well I certainly am not going to honor the bargain the Mizukage and Orochimaru made. I have no interest in being a science experiment. Similarly since I have a bloodline going back to Kiri is out of the question." "And the rebels?" Naruto asked.

"Eh. Don't get me wrong, Mei-sama's an alright person, I'm certainly rooting for them in this civil war. But sooner or later my ambitions would cause me to be in conflict with her. I suppose I'll just hope that I get reported as dead so I can live my life and pursue my goal."

"And that goal?" "Ok, but after this you have to answer my questions again. I want to see all 7 of the Mist Village's legendary swords reunited, just under my personal ownership. Now what are the unofficial reasons for the invasion?"

Naruto smiled, Suigetsu had no reasons to stay loyal to any faction in the Land of Water, that would make his job easier. "Well I can't speak for Konoha, but as for Kumo, I'm here to bring you a message from Raikage-sama."

The surprise that the Raikage of all people wanted to get a message to him caused Suigetsu to force his body to form once more, despite the difficulty. "And what would the Raikage want with little ol' me?"

"Raikage-sama has authorized my team to negotiate with you on his behalf, for you to bring your bloodline to Kumo, and allow the Hozuki clan to be reborn in the Hidden Cloud."

Suigetsu narrowed his eyes. "So from one person who wants to experiment on my blood line to another who wants to posses it? What's in it for me?"

"Plenty." Naruto stated, "Money, Power as the head of your clan, women, not being tortured or killed because of your abilities, the list goes on and on, Suigetsu-san." "When you say women..." Suigetsu said, intrigued.

"Raikage-sama would allow you to be with as many as you wish, as long as you don't use protection, after all your end of the bargain is to have children who will be loyal to Kumo. If you wish to take one or more as wives you may, if you wish to have them as nothing more than your concubines, you may. Raikage-sama doesn't really care what you do with them as long as children are created."

Naruto definitely had Suigetsu's attention. "Well, after such a generous offer I think I should at least hear your Raikage out. Can you get me out of here, and maybe take off this seal so I can use my chakra?"

Naruto smiled, it was too early to say for sure, but early indications seemed to be that his mission was successful. He stabbed his Kunai into the glass several times, causing it to break enough for water to leak out. Suigetsu dissolved his body again, and once the water had drained his body was able to reform with only minimal difficulty on the outside of the tank.

Naruto wasn't a Fuinjutsu master, but he did have some skills in the sealing arts, A had made sure of that. All it took was a quick look at the seal to see that it allowed Suigetsu to activate his chakra only when someone who had control of the seal allowed him to do so, and even then it was limited. Naruto could use that to his advantage, as a type of insurance.

Without telling Suigetsu what he was doing, other than that it would allow him to access his chakra again, Naruto modified the seal, giving him control of if Suigetsu had access to his chakra network, and then promptly allowed it. All it would take was a quick hand seal to block it again.

Suigetsu felt his chakra return to him, and unaware of the details of what Naruto had done, nodded to him gratefully. "You have my thanks, Z-san. Now let's go help out your friends up above."

With that the two teens headed back to the hatch leading up to the outside world, Suigetsu eager for revenge, and Naruto eager to make sure his friends were alright.

- _Above Deck-_

Samui was literally backed into a corner. The very aft most corner on the starboard side of the ship to be exact. Her Chakra was almost totally gone. She had managed to do some damage to the enemy captain, but her chakra got too low before she could deal any sort of lethal or incapacitating blow. Now, she was struggling to just stay alive long enough for help to arrive.

The enemy captain was all over her, and she was barely able to parry his blows away with her sword. Exhaustion had set in, and she was fighting on fumes.

Seeing his foe's condition, and with victory in his sight, the enemy captain launched himself at her, spinning his curse seal stage 2 modified body like a top, all the blade like appendages on his body spinning at such a speed that any contact was likely to sever bone.

With the last bit of energy remaining in her body, Samui moved to dodge, throwing herself out of the way, and collapsing in a heap nearby. Her opponent, attack finished, slowly walked towards her with a disturbing smile on his face, fully intent on having some fun with her before he killed her.

He reached the shaking kunoichi, who was valiantly fighting a losing battle with exhaustion, trying to force her body up. He raised an arm above his head, aiming to cut off one of her legs. Samui braced herself for an immense amount of pain, and closed her eyes, essentially having given up on her unresponsive body, mentally preparing for her death.

However, the pain never came, instead, just a shout of "Water Transformation Jutsu: Drowning Water Blob!" Samui looked up to find her enemy's head engulfed in a ball of water, and that ball was connected to a white haired boy, standing there with Naruto. His arm in a partially liquified state, as his hand was acting as the blob.

 _Naruto found the Target! Cool!_ Samui thought.

For all the clearly shark inspired elements of the Oto captain's curse seal, he lacked gills. It only took a couple minutes for the enemy to pass out, forcing his body back to its normal form, after which Kumo's target gleefully took a kunai and slit the man's throat. "Bastard thought he could keep me as a prisoner? Guess I showed him." Suigetsu taunted.

Upon realizing their captain was dead, some of the remaining Oto nin surrendered, and the battle quickly ended. As Theta and his crew rounded up the prisoners, Samui's subordinates rushed to her aid. Thankfully, she wasn't seriously injured, but she'd be bedridden for at least two weeks due to severe chakra exhaustion.

While Karui, Omoi, and Naruto tended to their team leader, Suigetsu took in the sights around him. _These guys made quick work of Orochimaru's forces, they're strong. If I want to escape, now's the time, while they're distracted_. On one hand, the Raikage's offer was certainly tempting. Suigetsu was definitely interested in money, power, and women. On the other hand, there was no guarantee he'd be able to pursue his goal.

Deciding he cared about the swords more than he did anything else, and hoping possessing all of them would bring him the things Kumo was offering, the young Hozuki made a break for the rail, calling out, "Water Transformation Jutsu: Liquify!" His plan was to have his body turn to water as soon as he jumped over the rails. Kumo would be unable to locate him and he'd just drift off with the tides.

However, he was surprised to find that his body wasn't liquifying, in fact he was unable to feel his chaka network. Instead of jumping over, he stopped and looked around. Naruto was frowning at him, with his hand forming a snake seal.

"I'm disappointing in you, Suigetsu-san. We were going to let you travel back to Kumo as a VIP. Now we'll be transporting you as a prisoner." "One way or another your Kekkai Genkai will belong to Kumogakure, wether or not you live a comfortable life there depends on your cooperation." Karui added.

Suigetsu was quickly sealed into a scroll, and with their mission complete, Team Samui, Theta, and the ship's crew began to sail back towards base camp, eager to check in with Yugito and report their success to Darui.

- _Elsewhere in The Land of Water-_

"What are we doing here, Itachi? You know I don't like coming back home." Itachi Uchiha looked rather apathetic, but those who knew him well, which was very few people, would have been able to see that he was slightly amused at his companion's discomfort."

"We're here because Kakuzu has a job for us to do here, Kisame, and because Zetsu and Leader-sama wanted us to check up on the two Kiri Jinchuuriki. Can't be too careful with them now that Konoha and Kumo are involved."

"I'm sure we're also here to help see if we can identify possible hosts for the 9 Tails amongst Konoha's forces." Kisame added. "Yes, assuming they've resealed the Kyuubi after they extracted it from Minato-sama's son it could be in anyone, so be on the lookout. If the opportunity presents itself we may be tasked with beginning to collect jinchuuriki."

Kisame smiled. "Well, that might actually make the trip home a bit more fun."

-End of Chapter-

* * *

Well that was interesting. After finishing the story for AC: Origins, I've been replaying AC: Black Flag, and it inspired me to do the Naval Battle Sequence. Might have to get the new remastered version of AC: Rogue, since the original is one of my favorite games in the franchise. (My top 5 are Origins, Syndicate, II, Rogue, Black Flag. Honorable mentions to Brotherhood and III.)

There were no references in Ch. 15, but there are two in this chapter. One is kinda forced, and I almost didn't make it. The other, i guess, is technically more of an inspiration than a reference, but I'm putting it in the reference category anyways.

Now onto selected Answers and Responses to your Questions and Comments!

Q: Is Itachi still alive?  
A: As you can see from the end of this chapter, yes. (I was actually that part written prior to receiving your review. As for your comment about Kumo becoming too powerful, I can't really respond without getting into Spoiler territory, but let's just say that I've been aware of the problem for some time, and have a possible solution or two in the works.)

I haven't really been sure what to do with the Akatsuki, so I've kinda avoided writing about them, but I have a tentative game plan for them now, hence the inclusion of Kisame and Itachi. You'll probably see some more of them in this arc.

C: I'd really like to see this be a Naruto/Ino pairing  
R: [Shameless Plug Alert] If you like Naruto/Ino pairings, check out my other story, _Shinobi Politics_ * It has that pairing (Also Sasuke/Sakura, Kakashi/Shizune, Asuma/Kurenai, and a couple more will be revealed in the chapters I'm in the process of writing/brainstorming.)

Originally Ino was one of several female characters I was considering for the Naruto pairing in this story, but after I made the other story Naruto/Ino I pulled her from the running for this one.

My current thoughts on Pairings:

I don't have a favorite 'Ship' and I'll never read or not read a story just because of a pairing. That being said, I do find Naruto/Ino, Naruto/Tenten, Naruto/Temari, and Naruto/Kurotsuchi pairings to be particularly intriguing. I suppose Naruto/Karui would be interesting as well, though I have yet to see one that is a dedicated Naruto/Karui, the ones I have encountered where the two of them are involved are usually Naruto/Harem.

This is not to say that Naruto/Sakura or Naruto/Hinata can't be interesting as well, but there are a lot more of those out there, and it takes a particularly well written take on those parings for me to be interested.

I don't like pairings that have huge age differences, like Naruto/Tsunade, Naruto/Anko, Naruto/Samui, Naruto/Yugito, and etc. About the biggest Age discrepancy I'd put up with is Naruto/Hana, though again, I have yet to see that pairing outside of Naruto/Harem. (Their age gap is approx. 6 years.) I'm also not opposed to Naruto/Harem, though it really depends on who is in the 'harem' and what the dynamic between everyone is.

Q: How is Konoha doing? Have they fixed the holes in their intelligence network and such?  
A: Yeah, there were several months in between the Kage Conference and the invasion, so they were able to rebuild. Considering all that has happened they are about as close to full strength as they can get.

Over 150 favorites and just under 200 follows. Wow, more than I ever expected, especially for my first attempt at Fanfacition. Thanks to all of you, you're great. It's only been about 10 months since I first discovered this site, and the world of Naruto fanfiction, and it took me a couple months to work up the courage to start working on a story, so thanks for your support.

As always, Thanks for reading

-Col. Bogey

* * *

Footnotes:

*I'm thinking about changing the name, so depending on when you are reading this that may no longer be the title.


	24. Chapter 17: Dragon Island Blues

-I don't own Naruto. Naruto was created by Kishimoto, please support the official release. Thanks for reading my first attempt at fan fiction-

 _Italics are thoughts. -Italics inside hyphens are the setting-_

* * *

-The Land of Fire-

A convoy travelled east along a road. Since the convoy was entirely composed of Shinobi, they had been making good time. Two days since they left their home, one more until they arrived at their destination.

In the early afternoon they entered a village. In the center of this village was the intersection of the main east/west road and one of the major north/south roads going through the Land of Fire. The village's economy largely revolved around catering to the needs of weary travelers.

As such, the convoy of shinobi decided to take a short break, and dispersed, breaking off into several smaller groups that went to various places to get lunch, browse for souvenirs, or stock up on supplies.

Subaku no Temari, future Godaime Kazekage of Suna and co-leader of the convoy, had to fight off some of her ANBU guards, who insisted on accompanying her to ensure her safety. Temari on the other hand wanted a nice, quiet lunch with her fiance. Shikamaru had been living in Suna for a couple months, so that he and Temari could grow their relationship as much as possible prior to the wedding, which would be taking place in just a few months.

Naturally, as future Kazekage, Temari got what she wanted. The ANBU had to settle for positioning themselves on the opposite side of the small teashop Temari had chosen for lunch. As she and Shikamaru seated themselves, she briefly pondered the event that brought them to the Land of Fire in the first place.

- _Flashback, Several Weeks Earlier-_

The Kazekage office was divided, two desks, two chairs. Baki and Temari got along well, after all she was his student, but the idea of sharing the Kazekage office? It had been very awkward at first, and both of them looked forward to the day when Temari would be the office's sole occupant.

Baki was still the Interim Kazekage for another few months, while he was training Temari to take over the position. The other two sand siblings were serving as jonin sensei, with Kankuro also learning to take over the position of foreign minister and Gaara the position of Jonin Commander.

There was a knock at the door. When they had first started sharing the office, both of Baki and Temari would have said 'enter' at the same time, and it would have been awkward. Now they had a system in place. Temari looked at Baki, who nodded his consent, and so she was the one who said "enter."

One of the chunin who worked in the Kazekage tower entered, and with a brisk "Kazekage-same" offered both of them a bow. "A Konoha ninja has announced himself at the entrance to our village, requesting an audience with you, and claiming he comes with an important message from the Hokage."

"Have you confirmed the Shinobi's identity?" Temari asked. "Hai, Temari-sama. We confirmed there was no Henge involved, and checked his identity against the most recent roster of Konoha Shinobi. Everything checks out, it's just that..."

"Is there a problem?" The young Kage seemed concerned at the chunin's hesitation. "No, Temari-sama. It's just a bit unusual. Konoha didn't send their normal diplomat. They sent one of their highest ranking Shinobi." Baki, who hadn't really been interested in the discussion until this point, perked up. "Who did they send?"

"They sent their Jonin Commander, Shikaku Nara. He's also the head of the Nara Clan." The chunin stated matter-of-factly, as if Temari wasn't already well acquainted with the man.

Baki grinned. _That idiot forgot that Nara-san is Temari's_ _future_ _father-in-law. This will be entertaining._

Temari showed no reaction, instead she pushed a button on her desk, and spoke into an intercom. "Please send for my brothers. I'd like them in the office as soon as possible."

She then turned her attention to the hapless chunin. "Who is my betrothed?" she asked as sweetly as possible. "Shikamaru-sama." the man answered. "And what village is he from?" "Konoha, it was part of the new alliance treaty with them that he wed you. You'll be getting married shortly after you officially take over as the 5th Kazekage, Temari-sama." Temari nodded.

 _The idiot still hasn't figured it out, I wonder what she's going to do to him?_ Baki was enjoying this.

"What clan was my fiance from?" "The Nara Clan." "And what was his position in the clan?" "Shikamaru-sama was the heir of the Nara Clan, Temari-sama." "And his relationship to Shikaku-san?" "Shikaku-san is Shikamaru-sama's father, Temari-sama."

Now Temari let a sadistic grin grace her lips. "Which would make my relationship to our guest from Konoha what exactly?"

Suddenly, it hit the chunin. The guards at the entrance to the village had waylaid the Kazekage's future father-in-law, and instead of just overruling them, he had continued to make the man wait as he consulted with the Kazekage over wether or not her soon-to-be husband's father was a threat.

He gulped, then spoke in a very nervous tone. "H-He is your future father-in-law, Temari-sama."

Temari's response started innocently enough: "Oh, he is?" Her demeanor turned to anger on a dime. "THEN WHY IS A FUTURE MEMBER OF MY FAMILY STILL WAITING OUTSIDE THE VILLAGE IN THE HOT DESERT SUN?! LET HIM INTO THE VILLAGE AND GIVE HIM AN ESCORT TO THIS BUILDING. NOW BAKA!"

"o-of course, Temari-sama. My apologies Temari-sama. I'll have him whitelisted so that this will never happened again." The bumbling chunin raced out of the room before Temari could chew him out any further. The sounds of Baki's laughter echoed down the hallway after him.

A couple of minutes after the chunin fled, Gaara and Kankuro joined Baki and Temari in the Kazekage office.

About 15 minutes after that, Shikaku Nara was shown into the office. He offered a bow and a "Kazekage-sama" to both Baki and Temari, which was met with a nod and grunt from the former, but Temari stood and walked towards her future father-in-law to offer a friendly embrace. "Please, Shikaku-san, there's no need for such formalities with me, we are family are we not? How is Yoshino-san?"

Since the arrangement over the position of Kazekage had been announced, she had spent a lot of time in Konoha, getting closer to her future husband and nailing down the final elements of the new alliance, and she had grown quite close to both of Shikamaru's parents, though she was especially close to his mother, Yoshino. Something that dismayed her future husband.

"As troublesome as ever." Shikaku responded as he returned his future daughter-in-law's hug.

Shikaku's presence was an unexpected, but very pleasant surprise. Temari's mother had died when she was very young, and her father had been rather cold and distant. Shikaku and Yoshino had become pseudo parents to her over the past several months, and she was always happy to see one or both of them.

However, there was no time for small talk. "I'm here to personally deliver a message from Hokage-sama, and similarly high ranking Konoha officials are in other allied villages delivering similar messages and invitations."

"And that message?" Baki asked, he was technically the Kage after all. Shikaku took a deep breath, hoping his analysis of Suna's most likely response to the situation was accurate. "In collaboration with Kumo, Konoha has launched an invasion of the Land of Water. Our intention is to permanently weaken the Mist village, preventing it from intervening in continental affairs like they did in the Third War."

Baki, Temari, Gaara, and Kankuro were all stunned, and at a loss of words. A few minutes passed in awkward silence. Due to the close nature of their alliance with Konoha, the Leaf-Cloud defensive pact was old news to the sand shinobi, though only a handful of Sand officials actually knew about it. But still, too launch a joint invasion?

Gaara, who had been sitting in a meditative position during the awkward silence, stood "Your thoughts on this, Gaara?" Temari asked, hoping that his change in posture signified that some sort of epiphany had occurred to her brother. "If Konoha and Kumo are successful it could benefit us." He said, bluntly

"How?" Kankuro asked, having not believed such a thing was possible. Baki stepped in to elaborate, knowing the Ichibi Jinchuuriki was not a big talker.

"If Kiri is disabled there will only be 4 great villages. This will drive up the demand for shinobi from Konoha and Kumo, who are the best positioned to begin acting in the Land of Water. That in turn will cause them to raise their prices, leading some of their clients to be priced out. However, these clients won't turn to the minor villages, since they are used to dealing with major villages, and it would be a blow to their ego to hire shinobi from Taki, Kusa, or etc. Instead, they will bring their business to us or Iwa, allowing us to gain new clients."

"A good analysis," Shikaku stated, "I also have this" he added, handing a scroll to Baki. "It is an invitation to attend a summit in Konoha. Hokage-sama wants to personally reassure everyone that this doesn't change anything with regards to our alliance."

- _End Flashback-_

And so a couple of weeks later, Temari and Baki had left her younger brothers and the council in charge of the village and headed for Konoha.

Temari took a sip of her tea, enjoying the peace and quiet in the shop. As she did, her mind wandered to her fiance. Realistically Shikamaru, who had only recently been sworn in as a Suna shinobi with the rank of chunin, had no business being on this trip. There were several more senior, more powerful shinobi who would have been better choices for the prestigious position of being one of the Kazekage's personal guards on a trip outside the village.

But as a native of Konoha, who had friends and family there, and as someone whose personal happiness was important to Temari, he was accompanying her, sitting across from her at the table as they waited for their food in silence, a silence that Temari decided to break.

"I'm really excited to get to Konoha and see your parents, Shika. Your mother is somewhat of a role model to me" she said in a teasing manner, knowing it would prompt a response. Said response was predictable: "Troublesome, at least Ino's apparently out of town so I don't have to deal with all three of you."

Temari smiled, this was their thing. She teased him and he called her troublesome, he was lazy and she berated him, yet somehow they made things work. In a few months they'd be husband and wife. Thankfully, the contract for the marriage prevented children from being a thing until he, three years her junior, was 18. It would give them a couple years before the Suna council started to pester them.

Shikamaru was an irksome individual, but it always seemed like just when he was at his most lazy and frustrating, he would do something that made Temari forgot her anger and feel nothing but affection for him. The two of them had yet to actually say "I love you" to each other, but at least in Temari's case she was fairly certain that she was in love with him.

Temari's mind was pulled from its romantic musings by a voice speaking to her that was clearly not her fiance. _"_ Ah, Temari-sama. It's nice to finally meet you. Congratulations on being chosen as the next Kazekage, I look forward to working with you."

At first, Temari didn't recognize the man that was speaking to her. Suddenly, she put a name to the face. He was the leader of one of the smaller villages that was allied with Konoha and Suna. This was Shibuki, the leader of the Hidden Waterfall Village, the most powerful of the 'minor' villages.

Shibuki and his entourage were also en route to Konoha for the Alliance Summit, though for the Taki leader that was only one part of his reason for making the trip.

Where as Shikaku had volunteered to carry the Hokage's invitation to Suna, logical since his son lived there, Tsunade had been shocked when Koharu and Horuma had been the ones to volunteer to deliver Taki's invitation.

They had done so, but had also gone around Tsunade to offer a side deal to Shibuki. With Danzo dead, and all of his shinobi undergoing rehabilitation, there were at least 8 different bank accounts spread throughout the Land of Fire that had been passed to the two elders, one of Danzo's contingency plans should something happen to him. Within these accounts was more money than Taki made in a decade, possibly even more than the village would make in two decades.

Their offer was simple, all of that money, more than a decade's worth of profit, for Taki's Bijuu. Shibuki was loathe to give up the Waterfall Village's Jinchuuriki, a girl named Fuu, who he viewed as a younger sister, but the money was very tempting.

He also had to consider Fuu's happiness, the girl was miserable in Taki. Her status as a jinchuuriki was well known, and everyone hated her. Shibuki was her only friend, at best everyone else tolerated her. As long as her status was kept secret, it would be possible for Fuu to lead a normal life in Konoha.

After getting a written promise that the Bijuu would not be extracted from Fuu, Shibuki reluctantly agreed to transfer his pseudo-sister to the Leaf Village. Her status would remain secret, and she would be allowed to live out her natural life in relative anonymity.

Tsunade had been shocked and angry to learn that the two elders had made such a deal without her authorization, but she wasn't really in any sort of position to do anything about it, Konoha was gaining a powerful asset, and the money paying for it had not come from any of the official village accounts.

Thus, Fuu was a part of Shibuki's entourage as the Taki leader made his way to Konoha. She was nervous of course, but in Taki she had faced discrimination and hatred. As long as her tenant remained secret she could expect to be treated like any other chunin in Konoha, so she was also excited at the prospect of beginning a new life.

–

Temari, Shikamaru, and Shibuki ended up eating lunch together, and afterwards the two convoys merged into one, as the Sand and Waterfall Shinobi made their way towards Konoha.

- _At the Same Time, the_ _Land of Water_ -

For over three weeks Samui had been bedridden, resting and recovering from her near death experience. During that time Yugito had taken the rest of the team and gone hunting for Utakata, but every time they found a clue to his possible location they were too late, and the trail always went cold.

With Samui having recovered, Darui had assigned the team to participate in a regular mission. They were assigned to a task force that was to take Dragon Island. One of the larger islands in the western Land of Water, Dragon Island was named for a powerful species of reptile that lived there.

The island was fairly large, and was the site of a volcano. Both the rebels and Kiri maintained a presence on the island, and there was a city that was home to at least 90,000 civilians and Samurai, who were neutral in what they viewed as an internal quarrel among Ninja. Strategically it was an important location that would serve as an excellent forward base camp from which to launch raids and invasion fleets into the more populated parts of the nation.

Naruto sat in a large room below decks of one of the ships of the invasion fleet, all around him were fellow members of the Yotsuki Clan. Sitting at the front of the group, and facing everyone else, was the clan's field commander for the invasion.

Usually, the deputy head of the clan acted as the field commander during times of war, but Naruto's father had yielded the position of field commander to Hikari, eager to see the young Yotsuki heiress gain some much needed leadership experience.

Up on the deck, the rest of the combined Team Yugito/Samui looked out at their surroundings. Their ship was anchored about a kilometer off the coast of Dragon island, and all around them were other ships, each carrying groups of Kumo and Konoha shinobi that were to participate in the invasion of Dragon Island.

The Yotsuki Clan members were busy maintaining a massive area-effect Genjutsu, which was disguising the fleet. Given Naruto's unique situation with genjutsu, he couldn't really cast the jutsu, but with his high chakra reserves he could function as a chakra battery of sorts. When a Clan Member exerted too much chakra, he could give them some of his own, allowing them to continue.

The invasion force was making their final preparations. Tsume Inuzuka was personally leading the force, showing just how vital the island was to her and Darui's strategy. They would have to fight not only the Kiri and rebel shinobi, but quite likely the Daimyo's samurai stationed in the city as well, just because the samurai were neutral in the civil war doesn't mean they would be neutral about two foreign nations invading.

The beachhead for the invasion had been carefully selected, and the only thing the combined force was waiting on was the insects of the Aburame Clan to confirm that no hostiles were in the immediate vicinity of their landing zone. As soon as that was confirmed, the Yotsuki would drop the Genjutsu, then the rest of the invasion force would jump over the sides and race to the shore.

- _Tsume's Flagship-_

Tsume stood near the wheel, Jiraya beside her. Members of the Aburame Clan were scattered all over the deck, waiting for their insects to return. The only sounds came from the ship's captain and his men, all the ninja were silent.

Eventually, a massive swarm of insects formed just off the coast, before it flew back to the ship, and the insects dispersed back into their hosts. The Aburame then quickly and quietly conferred among themselves, before one of them approached the bridge.

"The landing zone is currently clear, Inuzuka-sama." Tsume thanked the Aburame before making her way over to a member of the Yamanaka Clan. Each ship in the fleet had a Yamanaka stationed onboard to act as a communications officer during the invasion.

"Get everybody ready, we go on my signal." Tsume ordered, causing the Yamanaka to go through hand signs before saying "Shindenshin no Jutsu!" and casting the Mind Body Transmission Jutsu, a type of telepathy. With it, the blonde shinobi reached out to his fellow Yamanaka across the fleet, orders were given to the other ships without any words being said.

 _-The Yotsuki's Ship-_

A female Yamanaka (not Ino) headed below deck, and entered the room the Yotsuki were in. She then quickly approached Hikari. "We're almost ready, Yotsuki-dono. Please drop the genjutsu on my mark." "Of course, Yamanaka-san." she responded, before turning to her cousin. "Z-kun, you're supposed to take part in the actual invasion with your team right? You better head topside. Stay safe, Ikoto."

Naruto gave a slight bow to his cousin, and after offering her assurances that he would be safe, headed up to join the rest of Team Yugito/Samui.

- _Tsume's Flagship-_

After several minutes in which the Yamanaka clan member assigned to the ship hadn't spoken, or even opened his eyes, clearly focused on his jutsu, he finally seemed to relax and opened his eyes. "All ships have reported in, Tsume-sama. They are ready to go and await your orders." "And the Yotsuki?" Tsume asked. "Ready to drop the genjutsu." came the response.

"Alright, here's how this is going to work: I'm going to count to 3, after each number I'm going to pause for a few seconds while you relay the count, and your clansmen give the count out loud. At 2, I want the Yotsuki to drop the genjutsu, at 3 everyone goes over the sides, the invasion begins." "Hai, Tsume-sama. Just give me a few moments to relay your orders before you start counting."

"Make sure all the captains know I don't want their teams straying too far from the LZ, trying to capture more territory is fine, but I don't want anyone moving so far away that it would be difficult to reinforce them." The Inuzuka Matriarch added.

A few moments later, the Yamanaka spoke again, "ready when you are, Tsume-sama." Tsume then looked over to Jiraya, who gave her a nod before heading off to find his apprentice, they'd be taking part in the invasion as well, but their role was different. They'd be using the invasion force as a distraction to slip past enemy lines and begin reconnaissance.

Tsume then turned back to her Yamanaka communications officer and began the count: "One."

- _The Yotsuki's Ship-_

"Two." The Yamanaka said. "Kai!" called Hikari, quickly followed by the other members of their clan as they released the genjutsu that had been hiding the ships. Many of them were exhausted, even having Naruto on hand to act as a chakra battery, and factoring in the Yotsuki's natural affinity for genjutsu, maintaining such a large one for an extended period of time still took a huge toll on the 20 or so clan members that had been assigned to the invasion. Their job was done, outside of Naruto the Yotsuki would have no further role in the conquest of Dragon Island.

- _Tsume's Flagship-_

Tsume muttered a small prayer for the safety of the members of the invasion force before saying "Three!" The communications officer passed along the count, and seconds later hundreds of shinobi were jumping over the sides of ships all around her and racing towards the shore.

- _The Yotsuki's Ship-_

The Yamanaka had still been below deck when 3 was called out, so Team Yugito/Samui first learned the invasion had begun when they saw the swarms of shinobi heading towards the shore. They were the only shinobi on the deck of their ship. Outside of the Yamanaka, Yugito, Samui, Karui, and Omoi, everyone else on the ship, except for its crew, just a regular crew as opposed to the shinobi sailors under Theta's command, were Yotsuki.

"Well, I guess it's time." Yugito said as she observed the scene. "Guess we better join them." Samui said, before she jumped over the railing, quickly followed by Yuito, Naruto, Karui, and Omoi. They sprinted over the surface of the ocean, making quick time, and hitting the beach in about the middle of the pack.

As they got out of the water Karui, eager for action, asked "orders, Taicho?" Yugito and Samui looked at each other, before both turned back to her and said "help secure the perimeter" in perfect unison. Karui was surprised. "You mean, we're not going to push forward?" and she began pouting when the two jonin shook their heads.

For once, Omoi's conspiratorially and paranormally inclined mind was useful. "Given the status of a certain member of our team" his eyes briefly glanced to Naruto before settling on Yugito, whose jinchuuriki status was public knowledge, thus he wasn't risking any secrets by referring to her. "and Kiri's history of attempting to abduct people to make jinchuuriki, it probably isn't safe for our own to venture very far from reinforcements."

Both Yugito and Samui offered nods, it wasn't totally right, but it was a good cover. In reality, their participation in the invasion of Dragon Island was to allow them to attempt to gain intelligence for Objectives 1 and 2, and they weren't supposed to do any actual fighting unless it was to achieve either objective. Darui had made that abundantly clear to them. For now, they would bide their time.

As some teams pushed forward, carving a swath of territory out of the no man's land between the Mizukage's forces at one end of the island and the rebels on the other, Team Yugito/Samui, along with many other members of the invasion force, busied themselves setting up defensive positions and encampments.

Those that did venture forward, such as Tenten and Jiraya, found very little resistance. It seemed that both factions of the civil war were in their camps. The Toad Sage and his kunoichi apprentice easily slipped behind rebel lines and began their reconnaissance.

Eventually, the landing zone, and a ten kilometer radius out from the landing zone, was declared clear of hostiles and secure. At that point, the ships of the fleet sailed up two at a time and weighed anchor just off shore, so that supplies could be unloaded, along with Tsume and her command staff, the Yamanaka, the Yotsuki, and the Aburame clans, whose assignments had been limited to the pre-invasion build up.

A large tent city was quickly built, once the island was secure this was going to become the joint task force's main base, so it was designed with plenty of room to grow, many members of the task force were not part of the invasion of Dragon Island, and wouldn't be arriving until the island was captured. Darui, for example, was still back on Parrot Island directing special forces operations.

After finishing their work for the day, Naruto, Omoi, and Karui, were lounging on the beach, enjoying a brief minute of calm, when a familiar voice called out to them "Tomato-chan! Z-san!" They looked over to see the Hokage's apprentice, Sakura Haruno, along with Ino Yamanaka and Choji Akimichi, heading towards them.

With the landing zone secure, and no sign of the enemy, the six young chunin relaxed together for the remainder of the day. Omoi was formally introduced to the three Konoha ninja, Naruto was relieved to find out that not only had the 5 Konoha shinobi he confided in not revealed the secret of his identity, at least based on Sakura and Choji seeming to be none the wiser about him, but that Sakura held no hard feelings for the way he had defeated her in the chunin exams, though she did wince when the punishment Tsunade had put her through was brought up.

Many laughs were had at Choji and Karui's expense. It seemed that Ino's intuition had been right on, Choji was clearly attracted to the dark skinned, red headed kunoichi. Karui had, to the best of her knowledge, never had a boy like her before, and was very embarrassed by Choji's compliments, and the ribbing she received from her genin and 2nd round chunin exam teammates. The sun had been down for a couple hours when the six teens finally said their goodnights, and headed off to their tents for some much needed rest.

- _Several Days Later-_

A white haired man, and a teenage girl with buns in her hair checked in at the entrance to the invasion force's camp. Jiraya and Tenten were back from their scouting mission. Something was clearly bothering the pair, though what ever it was it seemed to bother the apprentice far more than the master.

- _Flashback-_

Jiraya and Tenten were sitting in the canopy of the thick jungle that made up much of Dragon Island. After a couple of days of searching, they had located a cave that they suspected was the main rebel base on the island. They were now trying to identify guards, hidden defenses, or anything along those lines, but had been unsuccessful so far. In fact, other than a few supplies strewn around the entrance to the cave, they had seen no signs of human life whatsoever in their 24 hour stakeout.

"Alright," Jiraya said. "The coast seems to be clear. It is possible that this base was recently abandoned. Just in case, we're going to use one of my best infiltration techniques." "You don't mean.." Tenten said, hesitantly." "Yep!" Jiraya said before running through hand signs, drawing some blood, and saying "Summoning Jutsu."

"Ugh." Tenten groaned as two small toads appeared in front of them. She freely admitted that this was an excellent infiltration technique, but she still hated it. They would infiltrate the cave hidden in the stomachs of these toads, and only once the toads determined that the location was clear would they….essentially vomit Tenten and Jiraya out. Not a pleasant way to infiltrate a cave.

30 minutes later Tenten emerged from the stomach of one of the toads, only to be greeted by the sight of blood and the smell of decay. The cave was filled with it. Dead bodies and blood were everywhere. Jungles are very humid places, and the bodies had rapidly decayed. The stench was overwhelming.

Even Jiraya was unable to keep his stomach contents down when greeted with the sights and smells of the cave.

"It seems we've arrived too late." He commented, when his body was finished. The battle had already happened. "What the hell happened here?" Tenten asked, in between bouts of her own upheavals.

After Jiraya poked around for a few minutes, he answered. "It looks like forces loyal to the Mizukage attacked, and based on the fact that 3 of every 4 bodies belongs to the rebels I'm guessing the Mizukage's shinobi won."

Tenten forced herself to look around as well, _I'm a shinobi damnit! I'm a chunin. I've seen death before, I should be able to handle this_. That being said, in the confined space of the cave, the smell was far stronger, and the sights far more disturbing, than it would have been in say a field or a forest.

At the back of the cave, she found one of the toads, standing in front of a small chamber. "I wouldn't go in there if I were you, you won't like what you see." The toad warned her. Tenten ignored the warning and entered the room.

Inside were 15 small bodies, these were children. They were lined up in a row and beheaded. _This wasn't part of the battle, these kids were executed in cold blood!_ Tenten thought, mortified. "It doesn't matter what age, sex, gender, socioeconomic status, civilian or shinobi, if they posses a bloodline the Mizukage's forces are going to execute them, no matter how young or old." Jiraya sadly said as he entered the chamber.

"Shishou, why are these kids here? I thought the rebels had kept all their kids and genin on Parrot Island?" Tenten asked, clearly disturbed. Even Jiraya, one of the Sanin, who had killed more people than he could remember, was clearly shaken by the sight of the executed children, but he still had an answer. "My guess is that they didn't have a chance to send these kids to Parrot Island before we took it, after that they probably figured this place was the next safest spot."

"You mean, it's our fault these kids are dead?" Tenten asked, her voice now fluctuating as tears flowed freely. "No, it's not, Tenten, these things happen in war." Jiraya tried to comfort his student, but his words were no comfort to her. In Tenten's mind she was personally responsible for the deaths of these children.

After some time, the two shinobi and the toads exited the cave, which Jiraya then used an earth style jutsu to collapse, creating a grave for the bodies inside. The toads quickly dispelled themselves, while Master and Student began the trek back to their camp, though in a much more somber attitude.

 _-End Flashback-_

The toad sage put a comforting arm on his apprentice's shoulder. "It'll be ok, kid. Take a walk, clear your head, hell take the rest of the day off to clear your head. I'm going to go check in with Tsume. I'll see you at dinner tonight."

Tenten's voice was weak as she responded "Hai, shishou, arigato." It did not take her long to find the tent she had been assigned. Being a Sanin's apprentice had its perks, she had been assigned to a tent with only one other kunoichi, a good friend of hers, Ino Yamanaka. However, the tent was empty when she arrived. Ino was still working.

Sleep evaded Tenten, even after several days she still held herself responsible for the deaths of those children, so after a half hour of lying on her cot she began wandering around the encampment, with no particular destination, still trying to process all that she had experienced the past few days. Tenten had killed before, but to see figures in such a disgusting state of decay...not something one easily forgets.

After a few minutes...or maybe a few hours, she hadn't been keeping track of time, her mind had been elsewhere, Tenten ended up back in front of her tent, only this time her roommate was there, and something had Konoha's self proclaimed gossip queen in a very good mood.

"Tenten! You're back!" the Yamanaka exclaimed as she offered her friend a hug, but quickly realized that not all was well. Tenten was unwilling to talk about what was bothering her, so Ino, like any self respecting person who possessed a technique that allowed them to read minds, used one of her clan's secret techniques to probe her tent-mate's memories.

"Oh, Tenten, I'm so sorry." Ino said in a soft and sympathetic voice after she finished. The rest of the night consisted of Tenten letting out all her pent up emotion over the incident, while Ino was there comforting her friend.

- _The Next Morning-_

Tenten and Ino were sitting in the commissary. Ino was eating her breakfast, Tenten didn't have much of an appetite, and was merely picking at hers. All around them, at the other tables, shinobi were eating, talking, laughing, boasting, and etc, but things were awkwardly silent at the two kunoichi's table.

Ino was determined to take Tenten's mind off of her inner demons, Tenten still felt responsible for the deaths of those kids, guilty by association. The gossipy Yamanaka quickly threw out some information she thought might help. "Did you know that Z-kun is here on the island?" she said, even though both of them knew Naurto's true identity, they had both promised to keep it a secret.

Tenten almost immediately perked up. Not only was Naruto a friend, but she owed him her life, and if she was honest with herself, she had become somewhat infatuated with the blond from Kumo. Not a fan girl obsession, Tenten was a serious kunoichi, but she was undeniably attracted to him.

Ino seemed to be aware of this, because she added "I thought mentioning that I hung out with your knight in shining armor yesterday would cheer you up a bit," causing her former team captain to blush a bit. "If you don't act fast though, I might steal him from you. One hot blond deserves another after all, and kami is he hot." Ino added.

Tenten was not ready to have a relationship, and even if she was she wasn't sure one was possible. Given Naruto's status, and past, it was unlikely Kumo would just be ok with him dating a shinobi from Konoha. Either way, Tenten resolved to try to find him later that day, even if she wasn't going to confess her crush, she would still enjoy hanging out with him.

 _-That Evening-_

Tenten and her master sat in a bar, drinking. Given that she was the apprenticed of the legendary Toad Sage, and had once idolized Tsunade, both noted drinkers, it should come as no surprise that Tenten had developed a taste for sake herself, though she was no where near as bad as either of the Sanin.

Still, she had gotten drunk on this night. Between the lingering guilt from the scouting mission and her inability to locate Naruto despite an entire day of searching, she decided she needed a drink, and gone to the base's bar. Jiraya had found her there, and not knowing about Naruto, had decided that his apprentice simply needed alcohol to suppress her emotions over their mission. He had endeavored to get his apprentice drunk.

Tenten had not intended on having more than one drink, but Jiraya was very persuasive, and she was quickly inebriated. It was then that Jiraya asked what she had been doing all day.

Sober Tenten, while upset by the fact that her hero seemed to hate her master, would have been responsible enough to not bring up the fact that Naruto was on the island.

Drunk Tenten though...well the fact she at least remembered to refer to him by his codename was somewhat of a miracle. "I ssshpent all d*hic*day looking for Z-kun. Ino-teme told me he was on the island and that s-she hung out with him yesterday, lucky bitch *hic.* I couldn't find him though."

Jiraya, while drunk, was a far more experienced drinker than his apprentice, and still had enough of his wits about him that he would remember this conversation in the morning. _Naruto's here? Now's my chance to get my godson back!_ The intoxicated toad sage thought, determined to make things right. As a reward for his apprentice, he quickly ordered another round of sake. Needless to say, Tenten had quite the hangover the next morning, and no memories of her conversation with the Toad Sage.

- _Kumogakure, Raikage's Office-_

"So, Hozuki-san, Hoshigaki-san, have you both had a chance to consider my offer?" Both the former Mist rebels were standing in front of A's desk as he gazed at them rather sternly. The two bloodline holding ninja had been in Kumo for about two weeks. They had been brought to see the Raikage at the beginning of their stay, and had been given an ultimatum.

A had offered them a good life in Kumo. They would be listed as Chunin, provided with money, and given plots of land to build clan compounds. While they were expected to stay in shape and train, they would not be sent on missions unless absolutely necessary.

In exchange, their children, and they would have children, that was non negotiable, would be raised as loyal Kumo Shinobi, and the two of them would be monitored by ANBU at all times, at least until they could be considered loyal to Kumo. There was also an implication that once they had children, their offspring would then be used as hostages to ensure loyalty if necessary.

If the former Kiri ninjas didn't accept the offer, they would be kept in an induced coma for the rest of their lives, while they were forced to reproduce again, and again, and again, but never allowed to regain consciousness to see their children.

Since Suigetsu had tried to flee during his rescue, he was housed in a Kumo prison while he considered the Raikage's offer. The Hoshigaki kunoichi, named Aya, had been housed in a luxury hotel, though her Chakra had remained sealed, and ANBU were stationed outside her room at all times.

The shark-like Kunoichi spoke first, putting on a brave face despite the fact that she was only 13. "I must admit I wasn't expecting this whole thing, but I have two questions, Raikage-sama. Am I allowed to chose the people I have children with, or will you be providing them? And is there a number of children you would require?

"You'll be allowed to chose any and all the men in your life, Hoshigaki-san. You can even have a couple women on the side if you would like. I won't force you into anything, wether you want 1 husband, or multiple men is entirely up to you. I'm not going to require you to be married until you are 16, and have children until you are 18. Kumo will require a minimum of four young Hoshigaki, unless it proves medically dangerous for you to have that many."

He then smiled and added "And don't feel bad, no one expects Kumo. Our primary weapon is the element of surprise."

Aya nodded, jokes aside those were the answers she was hoping for, she would have some say in who she was with, and wouldn't be turned into a breeding machine. The young genin considered escaping to be impossible at this point, and A's offer was preferable to the alternative. "In that case, I'll accept your offer, Raikage-sama. I pledge my loyalty to Kumogakure."

"Excellent, welcome. You'll continue to stay in your hotel until we can get you set up with more permanent housing, but I'll have you introduced to your ANBU escort. As long as they are with you, you are free to move about the village at your leisure." A was truly ecstatic that Kumo was gaining another Kekkai Genkai, but it wasn't yet the time to celebrate. "And you, Hozuki-san?"

"Yeah, I guess I'm in too." Suigetsu wasn't going to pledge his loyalty. He was still going to try to escape if the opportunity arose, but accepting the Raikage's offer, for now at least, was better than refusing it. _I'm not giving up on my dream though, I will collect the seven swords. As soon as they are lu_ _ll_ _ed into a false sense of security and drop my guards I'll be bidding Kumo adieu._

 _-_ _Iwa-_

 _Dear Z-kun,_

 _I hope this letter finds you well. I'm sorry it took me so long to respond to your last letter, it's been a crazy past few weeks here, and your village is to blame. What is your Raikage thinking? A joint invasion with Konoha? He's jeopardizing our alliance, aligning you with Iwa's greatest enemy. Gramps was really upset when he got the Raikage's letter notifying him of the invasion of Kiri. He even called a summit of all our allies to make your Raikage explain himself._

 _The old geezer said I'm going to be one of his bodyguards for the summit. Of course, it's only natural the future Tsuchikage attend the event. As future Raikage, you need to be there as well, or at least talk some sense into your insane Kage, and I thought the Mizukage had lost his mind._

 _Anyways, I hope you are well. Are you participating in the invasion? If so then please stay safe, and don't trust any of those Konoha rats, Trash-chan excluded of course. I owe her my life, and she owes hers to you. I guess via the transitive property I owe you my life as well?_

 _Hoping to hear from you soon, or maybe see you at the summit?_

 _Yours,_

 _Kurotsuchi Kazahana_

 _Future Yondaime Tsuchikage_

Kurotsuchi looked over her letter one last time. Almost immediately after returning to Iwa from the chunin exams, she had written to Z, and it took him a while, but eventually he wrote back. They had since started up a regular correspondence.

It was refreshing to have a male her own age who would speak to her so freely, even if only in writing. The boys around her age in Iwa were all very hesitant to speak to her, she was the Tsuchikage's beloved granddaughter after all.

Their hesitance had only increased after Onoiki had personally executed the Iwa genin who had purposely injured Kurotsuchi in the chunin exams. Z was the only boy who treated her like a normal person, and she appreciated that. It made him very special to her.

 _It would never work_ , she had been telling herself in recent weeks. _Z-kun's going to be Raikage and I'm going to be Tsuchikage_ , _our two villages would never let us be together. I suppose we could maintain a steamy affair when we see each other at conferences, summits, and chunin exams. Or maybe he'd be willing to give up being Raikage for me? Would I be willing to give up being Tsuchikage for him?_

Whenever she got to that point, she always stopped herself. _It's too soon to be thinking about that, Z-kun's not even my boyfriend. He's just a boy...a very cute boy….who actually treats me like a normal person...and who happens to be my friend._

Her letter had been very accurate. Onoiki had been irate upon learning of the invasion of Kiri. Kumo was supposed to be their allies against Konoha, not helping them. True, like Shikamaru, Onoiki saw a benefit to the invasion, but the long term implications of Cloud-Leaf cooperation outweighed the potential uptick in business as far as he was concerned.

A had assured him that their defensive pact was still in place, and that Kumo would come to Iwa's aid against any and all aggressors, including Konoha, but that wasn't enough to satisfy the stubborn, elderly Tsuchikage

Onoiki had called a summit, and to his credit A had agreed to attend and explain his reasoning to Iwa and their minor allies.

Still, Iwa was on high alert, wary of what might happen.

- _Citadel Island, The Land of Water_ -

Far to the east of Dragon Island, lay a small island, little more than a rocky outcrop that had been carved into a large structure. This was Citadel Island.

Citadel island was so named because the entire island was a fortress. Shortly before Naruto went through the chunin exams, a massive battle had been fought over the island, leading to the death of the Yondaime Mizukage, Yagura. Since that battle, the island was in rebel hands, and was their headquarters.

Mei Terumi, the leader of the rebellion, sat at a table overlooking a map of the Land of Water, all around her were her advisors. Over the past year the rebels had one battle after battle. Forces loyal to Yagura's successor still had their strongholds, Dragon island and the Hidden Mist Village, for example, but most of the nation was in rebel hands.

Despite that, Kiri shinobi were doing a great job of deceiving spies from other nations into thinking the war was much more neck and neck than it actually was, the other great Shinobi Nations all seemed to believe that Yagura was still alive, in the grand scheme of things though, that was nothing more than a minor inconvenience.

Still, not all was well for the rebels. The joint Kumo/Konoha invasion had thrown a wrench into their plans.

"Have we heard back from Red Squadron?" Mei asked her top advisor, Ao. The man with a stolen Byakugan shook his head in the negative. "No, Terumi-sama. Red Squadron was dispatched to Dragon island to gather up some of our genin and academy students that had escaped from Parrot island after the cloud and leaf took it, but we can't get ahold of Red Leader or anyone from the squadron."

"Konoha and Kumo just invaded the island, could that have something to do with it?" asked the one member of the 7 Ninja Swordsmen loyal to the rebellion, Chojuro, in a soft voice. His body language and vocal inflection would lead one to believe he was weak, but he was actually an incredibly talented swordsman.

"Doubtful, we lost contact with Red Squad at least 2 days prior to the invasion of Dragon Island." Ao responded.

"Dragon Island is one of the few islands left where the Mizukage has a stronghold, so I think it's safe to say that there was a battle, and that we lost." Mei said.

"Mei-sama...what are we going to do about Kumo and Konoha?" another advisor asked. "I think the only hope we have left is convincing Utakata to join our side." Mei responded. "Ao, get me our best Hunter Ninja, I want Utakata here and ready to help as quickly as possible."

"Hai, Terumi-sama." Ao responded as he went to summon the hunters. _Utakata-san may be a jinchuuriki, but most of Kiri's best Hunter Ninja chose to_ _defect and_ _join the rebellion, if he thinks he can just walk over the squad we'll be sending then he'll be in for a surprise._

Back in the command center, after every else had left, Mei slumped into a chair, exhausted, thinking: _Help_ _us_ _Utakata, you're our only hope._

-End of Chapter-

* * *

Bet some of you forgot that I actually killed off Yagura back in Chapter...5? I wanna say 5. At the time I wasn't planning on using Kiri at all, and needed a reason for the Akatsuki delaying their actions...why not the death of the 3 Tails' jinchuuiriki? That came back to bite me here, I almost forgot that I had killed him off.

I could have had the Yamanaka Tsume was assigned do something similar to what Ino does in Canon, but that seemed to take a lot out of her, so I'm assuming that the Yamanaka avoid trying to broadcast to whole armies whenever possible. Granted the Allied Shinobi Force, even after it had been whittled down, was still probably bigger than this little invasion force, but still.

Since everyone keeps bugging me about pairings, I gave you a little teaser in this chapter. Naruto has become very popular with ladies from outside his own village, though we might see him become popular with a couple of ladies from inside his village as well too...

Responses to your some of your Questions and Comments:

Q: What makes the Akatsuki think the Kyuubi was resealed?

A: Naruto, who was widely known to be a jinchuuriki, and reviled in Konoha, simply disappeared, and Konoha had no idea what happened to him. He was too young to survive on his own. The most likely outcomes were either A: Naruto was not a suitable host and the Kyubi was extracted or resealed, or B: Naruto died, and the Kyuubi disappeared for a few years before being captured and sealed again.

C: I like how you haven't made Kumo overly powerful yet.

R: I mean, they are clearly the most powerful village, but Konoha's gonna make a run for that too. The Bijuu Arms Race began in this chapter, and it's a three way race between Cloud, Leaf, and the Akatsuki. I guess you could throw Iwa in there two, but they aren't actively pursuing any, at least not at this time.

Thanks for reading,

-Col. Bogey


	25. Chapter 18: The Jinchuuriki Question

-I don't own Naruto. Naruto was created by Kishimoto, please support the official release. Thanks for reading my first attempt at fan fiction-

 _Italics are thoughts. -Italics inside hyphens are the setting-_

* * *

- _Two Weeks Later-_

With confirmation that the rebels no longer had a presence on the island, and that the overall strength of the Mizukage's forces were weaker on the island than anticipated, the combined force made quick work of the invasion of Dragon Island. Within two weeks, the whole island, aside from the main city, was in the invaders' hands.

The city was quickly surrounded. By land, shinobi from Kumo and Konoha laid siege, while the Kumo Navy kept the port blockaded, essentially cutting the city off from the rest of the Land of Water.

Team Yugito/Samui had seen some action during the battle for the island, but once the siege of the city got underway they found themselves called back to base camp. Their mission after all was to acquire tailed beasts and Kekkai Genkai, they'd be wasting their time participating in a drawn out conflict.

Thankfully for them, the invasion forces had taken a lot of prisoners during the battle of Dragon Island, and this time Kumo was in charge of guarding the POWs. It was an excellent opportunity for the team to gain some intel that could help them with one or both of their goals.

To house and guard all the new prisoners, Kumo had brought in one of the largest ships in their Navy. Specifically designed as a prison ship, it featured several decks of cells and interrogation rooms, topped off with seals that would prevent anyone from being able to hear, see, or sense what has happening below decks.

Naruto and co. were spending most of their work days on the ship, interrogating prisoners. Samui had some skills as an interrogator, and along with Omoi and Karui, was searching for information.

That being said, they'd occasionally come across someone too difficult for them to get any information out of. That's when they'd call in the big guns, Naruto and Yugito.

Though neither jinchuuriki was particularly skilled in torture, psychology, or any of the other tricks in the interrogator's metaphorical tool bag, they didn't need to be. Between the two of them they could leak out enough killing intent and foul chakra to make even a Kage level ninja soil themselves.

It just wasn't possible for the shinobi who had been captured to help themselves, when faced with the overwhelming KI and demonic forms of the jinchuuriki they were consumed by fear, and told the two whatever they wanted to know.

Presently, the two jinchuuriki were working on a particularly troublesome jonin. The kunoichi had resisted every trick Samui, Karui, and Omoi had tried, but just a few minutes alone in a room with Naruto and Yugito had reduced her to a sobbing, sniveling wreck.

"I'll ask you one last time" Yugito snarled. Both she and Naruto were in full on Bijuu Cloaks, and almost looked like feral animals, serving to enhance how terrified the prisoner was of them from their killing intent and chakra alone. "What is the last known location of your villages' jinchuuriki?"

"U-U-Utakata was last seen in the Mangrove Archipelago...but that was over a month ago. He kills anyone who gets too close to him." The poor girl manage to blurt out.

"And what of the Mizukage? Is he still in Kiri?" Naruto asked. "Yagura-sama was killed in battle against the rebels about a year ago….please, that's all I know! Please don't kill me!"

- _Darui's Command Tent, the Next Day-_

Samui, Yugito, Karui, Omoi, and Naruto all stood around Darui's desk. Darui himself was listening intently as the team, or to be more specific, the jonin co-captains, were briefing him on all that their team had learned during their stint aboard the prison ship, which had just come to an end.

"So Yagura is dead huh? That certainly makes the invasion easier, but in terms of Objective 2 things are more difficult for us." Darui was relatively subdued upon hearing the news, but then again his personality was much more subdued to begin with, at least compared to the likes of A and B.

"It happened a year ago, and yet they were able to keep it from the outside world, that's pretty impressive." Samui added. "That's true." Darui agreed, before turning to his own village's jinchuuriki. "Any idea of when the Three Tails will reform?" he asked, particularly of Yugito, since Naruto had far less experience with the world of Tailed Beasts, and had no relationship with his tenant.

Yugito closed her eyes and stood there, silently, for a few minutes. Everyone else waited patiently as she communed with the Two Tailed Cat. Finally, she opened her eyes again. "Nibi-chan thinks it will be a couple years before the Three Tails reforms," she said.

"And no doubt, if word gets out, every village and group in the elemental nations is going to try to get their hands on it," Darui observed. "Kiri was likely hoping to keep it secret so that they would have an easier time recapturing it. I think it's in our best interest if we keep this information just between us until we get clarification from the boss."

Everyone else nodded in agreement, the Raikage would decide what to do about the Three Tails, it was something that was above all of their pay grades. Darui finished writing down the information Team Samui/Yugito had learned, preparing a report for A, before quickly sealing all of it in a scroll, which he handed to Naruto.

"This is top secret, it can't go through the normal channels. Summon your owl, and then have them dispel with it, go to Kumo, and deliver it to A-sama."

"Sure thing, Darui-taicho." Naruto said, running through a familiar set of hand signs and drawing blood. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu" with a poof of smoke, Naruto's familiar, Mimi, stood in front of the group. "It is good to see you again, Naruto-san. It has been some time since you last summoned me."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "Yeah, I'm sorry about that Mimi-chan, but I didn't think you'd appreciate being summoned in the middle of a war zone." "Indeed." The owl agreed, "but I couldn't help but notice that you have summoned me to the Land of Water anyway." "True, but you're only going to be here for a couple of minutes." Naruto responded.

Mimi seemed to take it in stride, and got straight to business: "Then what can I do for you, Naruto-san?" Naruto quickly held out the scroll, which Mimi grabbed with one of her talons. "This scroll contains classified information, not even the other Kumo shinobi here can no what is on it, much less that it exists. Please dispel, then once you are back home head to Kumo and give this to Raikage-oji." Naruto said.

The owl tilted her head slightly, and furrowed her eyes, seemingly annoyed at the request. "Naruto-san, I'm not a carrier pigeon, I eat those for breakfast." "I know, Mimi-chan. I'm sorry for asking you to do something so mundane, but I promise I'll make it up to you." "I look forward to that, Naruto-san." the owl said, then quickly dispelled herself, scroll and all.

With the classified message safely on its way to the Raikage's desk, the members of Team Samui/Yugito turned back to A's right hand man, possible successor, and designated commander for the invasion. "What next, Darui?" Samui asked.

"I'll be splitting the team up, going on two assignments." Darui said.

"Samui, Karui, and Omoi will have a couple days off, because I still need to pin down the exact location of this, but supposedly there is a convoy of Kekkai Genkai holding refugees trying to make it to one of our camps in order to claim asylum. Once I pinpoint which island they are currently on, or en route to, I'll send the three of you to escort them, if only so that we can claim their bloodlines before Konoha does. For now the three of you are dismissed."

The jonin and two chunin offered quick bows and left the tent, eager for some free time, Karui especially. With the realization that Choji of all people had feelings for her, she had slowly been spending more time amongst the Konoha shinobi of her own age, eager to learn more about the man who held her in such high esteem, and to spend time with him to see if she would develop reciprocal feelings.

When they were gone, Darui turned to the two jinchuuriki. "The two of you will be heading to the Mangrove Archipelago to follow up on that lead about Utakata. Most leads we've had for him have been several months old. This lead, if still old, is significantly newer. See if you can pick up a trail."

"Where is the Mangrove Archipelago?" Naruto asked. Darui quickly motioned to a detailed map of the Land of Water that was hanging on the wall of the tent. He then stood and walked over to it, pointing to a chain of very small islands far to the south.

"The Mangrove Archipelago are some of the southern most islands in this nation. They also have almost no native population and thus the Water Daimyo and Kiri don't have much of a presence there. It's known as somewhat of a haven for smugglers and pirates, but even then, estimates are that only about 200 people live in the Archipelago full time."

"Sounds like a good place for someone to disappear to." Yugito noted. "Indeed," Darui agreed "I'll have Theta get his ship ready, you'll head out tomorrow morning. Naruto, take the rest of the night and relax, I have a couple of other things I need to discuss with Yugito." "Hai, Darui-Taicho. See you tomorrow, Yugito-nee." Naruto said as he took his leave.

In the back corner of the tent, behind a small chest of drawers, a beetle also decided it was a good time to leave, and headed back out the small tunnel it had dug in order to infiltrate the tent. Intent on making its way back to its Aburame host to share the intelligence it gathered, it still made sure to collapse the tunnel behind it, leaving no trace of its espionage.

- _That evening-_

Naruto sat alone on a pristine white sand beach near the base camp, alone in his thoughts, watching the sunset. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he failed to notice a person walk towards him, and sit down next to him, perhaps a little too close. Naruto was oblivious to all of this until a voice pulled him from his thoughts.

"I know this area has been cleared, but still we are in the middle of a war zone, shouldn't you be a little more aware of your surroundings, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto was snapped back to reality, quickly taking his surroundings. "Oh, Tenten-chan, sorry, I was kinda spacing out for a bit." "I noticed...whatcha thinking about?" "Oh, nothing much. I was just thinking about how the sunset looks different here than it does in Kumo."

It was only a half truth, the thought had crossed his mind, but his thoughts were primarily on Utakata, his fellow jinchuuriki and the objective of the hunt he was about to embark on.

If Tenten was able to detect that Naruto wasn't totally honest with her, she didn't let it show. She had spent the whole of the past two weeks either searching for him or participating in the battles for the island, she was just relieved to have finally found the object of her affection, her hero to whom she owed her life.

"How are they different?" she asked, eager to keep the conversation going for a bit longer. "Well, in Kumo, as the sun sets behind the mountains, the lighting makes the snow-capped peaks look almost purple, a real majestic sight." Naruto began, "Here, it almost looks like the sun sets beneath the waves, and it makes the sky turn orange, almost as if the heavens are burning."

Tenten spared just a moment to look away from Naruto and observe the sunset herself. "Yeah, you're right." she said. "In Konoha, the sun sets behind the trees, and it also turns all orange, sometimes it almost looks like the forest is on fire. It's pretty, but not like this."

"It is pretty here." Naruto agreed, having now become engrossed in the sunset, that he did not realize that Tenten had been looking straight at him when she had made her remark about the beauty of the sunset, not so subtly complementing his appearance.

Tenten was full on going after Naruto's affection, having heard through the grape vine, from Karui via Ino, that at least two other females seemed to be after Naruto. Apparently Karui had read some of Naruto's exchanges with Kurotsuchi, and seemed convinced that the Iwa-nin liked Naruto.

Karui knew for a fact that her fellow Cloud 9 Shinobi, Ran, had some feelings for the son of the Yotsuki Clan's deputy head as well, as the two kunoichi were part of the same social circle. She had shared all of this with Ino, who had not so subtly been prying for info on Naruto to pass along to Tenten, while the two of them had both been hanging out with Choji.

Any lingering doubts Tenten had about her affections for Naruto had disappeared when Ino had shared the information with her, as she had actually grown quite jealous, and made up her mind to win Naruto for herself, in addition to trying to forge some sort of connection between her master and her crush.

For now, Naruto was oblivious. Not even the fact that Tenten was sitting so close to him that their bodies were touching was something that he picked up on.

It wasn't necessarily that he was too dense to notice, true he was a bit dense in regards to romance, but her not-so-subtle displays of interest were more than enough for him to clearly read. He was just too troubled by the prospect of hunting a fellow jinchuuriki to notice them.

Would Utakata willingly join Kumo? Would they be forced to kill him in order to extract the six-tails and seal it into another person? Would that someday happen to him? Or Yugito? Or B? That lead him down a darker trail...What happened when a jinchuuriki became too old? Did their own village intentionally kill them via a forced extraction and re-seal in order to prevent the beast from escaping?

In truth he was glad for Tenten's distraction and the talk of sunsets, it was a much more pleasant subject matter, and he didn't really want to know the answer to the last question he had about jinchuuriki.

"Yeah, but the sunsets in Kumo sound really pretty too." Tenten said, unaware of the turmoil in Naruto's mind. "I didn't really pay attention the last two times I was there, with the exams, and our big meeting the second time, I was too focused on those. Maybe I'll have to visit again and see one for myself."

"Yeah, you should all come visit again." Naruto said, "last time was too serious, you, Shino, and Ino should come again so that we can actually hang out. I'll show you all the best spots."

Tenten was slightly disappointed that he included everyone else, not just her. Clearly Naruto had missed her signals. Still, it was some progress at least, and she could be happy with that. The two ended up sitting together, watching the sunset in silence. Naruto then had to leave, he was supposed to ship out early the next morning, not that he could tell that to her.

- _Meanwhile, at Tsume Inuzuka's Command Tent-_

Tsume and Jiraya were discussing the intel a member of the Aburame clan had brought her. "I'm glad you decided to literally bug Darui-san's tent, Inuzuka-dono. This is a huge opportunity for us." Jiraya said, while writing a scroll that he was going to send to Tsunade via Messenger Toad.

"Indeed." Tsume agreed. "It's true that we can't complete our objective of getting the Three Tails, but that will be up for grabs at some point, and in the meantime we can go after the Six Tails. I want you to head out before dawn, see if you can get ahead of the group Kumo is sending after them. Take your apprentice with you, and I've got someone else that I'll be sending along."

"Who?" Jiraya asked. Tsume grinned, somewhat deviously. "Reinforcements, fresh from Konoha." She then paused a moment and motioned to the guard stationed at the entrance. "Send her in."

The guard bowed, then exited the tent, reappearing a moment later with a green haired kunoichi. "Jiraya-sama, meet Fuu, our village's newest Kunoichi, and the jinchuuriki of the Seven Tails. Fuu, Jiraya-sama, one of the legendary sanin."

The same smile Tsume had was now plastered on Jiraya's face. "I see, a good idea." he responded to Tsume, before turning to Fuu. "Nice to meet you." he said, offering his hand. "Glad to meet you as well," Fuu responded, taking the hand, "Though I must tell you that Lady Hokage said I should castrate you if you try anything. I'm not sure what that means, but she said you would."

Tsume chuckled at the warning Tsunade had sent the girl with, before adding: "Hokage-sama sent her here in order for you to look at her seal and make sure everything is on the up and up. I figured it would be a good idea to send her with you on this mission though, since your target apparently has a reputation for fighting back."

- _The Next Morning-_

Even before the sun rose above the horizon, Naruto and Yugito found themselves back on board Theta's ship as it slipped out of its anchorage.

The ship headed north until Dragon Island was out of sight, making it appear to any one that was watching it that the ship was heading back towards the Land of Lightning, but as soon as Dragon Island disappeared from view, Theta directed his crew to change course, heading east to continue to stay out of sight, before eventually turning south towards the Mangrove Archipelago.

Neither Naruto, nor Yugito, had slept much, and both had dark circles under their eyes. For Naruto, after taking his leave from Tenten, he had returned to his tent, and his mind had wandered back to the question of the fate of any jinchuuriki that survived long enough to possibly die of natural causes. Now, he decided to ask Yugito about it.

"Hey, nee-chan" he said softly, pulling her from her own thoughts that had kept her up for most of the night. "If you, and B-sensei, and I all live long enough to die of old age...is the village gonna kill us early to prevent our tenants from escaping?"

At first Yugito looked surprised, it was only natural that Naruto wonder about that at some point, but she hadn't expected it to be so soon. She quickly regained her composure, forcing a smile to her face as she ruffled his hair. "You'll probably be fine, Naruto."

"What do you mean by probably?" he asked. Again, Yugito forced a smile.

"Well, you're going to become Raikage right? The village isn't going to do that to their own leader, unless you order them too. Even if you don't become Raikage, the Yotsuki Clan will likely protect you. They won't allow anyone to extract the Kyuubi until you're already on your death bed and have a chance to say your goodbyes."

"And what about you and B-sensei?" "Well, B is A-sama's brother. As long as A-sama is alive he won't allow anything to happen to B, he'll get the same treatment as you.." "...and you, nee-chan?" Yugito took a deep breath, then let out a sigh.

"I don't have any clan, and don't have any current ties to a Raikage, so there is no one to speak on my behalf. Assuming that doesn't change...and I actually live that long...they'll begin looking for a suitable new host when I turn 50. As soon as they find one, which could take several years, they'll extract and reseal Nibi-chan."

Naruto had no verbal response, but the dejected look in his eyes said everything, and he quickly hugged his quasi big sister. "Nee-chan….it's not fair, what we have to go through." Yugito tried to reassure him. "Kid, 50 is ancient for a ninja, so if I make it that long I'll have had a longer life than 99% of the people in our profession." "Still...nee-chan, you're already in your late twenties..."

Yugito sighed again "Thanks kid, I already feel old enough as it is. Didn't anyone tell you never to bring up a woman's age? Anyway, as I said, that's assuming I don't have any ties to a Raikage, but I'm your big sister right?" Naruto immediately perked up. "That's right, I'm not gonna let them do that to you, Yugito-nee!"

This time, Yugito's smile was genuine. _I know you won't, Naruto. And even if you don't become Raikage, it seems that I may have another option._

"Nee-chan...what if I don't become Raikage in time to save you?" Naruto was back to being dejected. _Damn, that was fast, I guess I'll have to tell him, can't have him moping around on this mission._

"Naruto, what do you know about the relationship between the title of Raikage and the jinchuuriki of Kumo?"

Naruto thought for a minute, then responded: "The village prefers it if the Raikage and one of the jinchuuriki are family. Kumo raises their jinchuuriki to be close to each other, and if one of us is related to the Raikage it helps keep all of us loyal."

Yugito nodded. "You're mostly correct, but not entirely. A few years ago A-sama made it law that all Raikage must be related to a jinchuuriki, it's a prerequisite now, and even if you don't become Raikage, that change might just spare me an early death."

Naruto looked hopeful, but confused. "How is that, Nee-chan?" This time, Yugito's sigh was more of a jab at Naruto than a serious one. "Really? You want to become Raikage and you can't figure it out?" Her fellow blond thought for a few more moments, before shaking his head, causing Yugito to prompt him:"Who is the most likely candidate to become the Godaime?"

"As much as I'd like to say me, I'm most likely not gonna have enough experience, and Raikage-oji-sama seems to have chosen Darui-taicho as his successor." came the response. "Naruto, what I'm about to tell you is top secret." Yugito said, activating the privacy seal on the cabin the two of them were in.

"Last night, after you left, Darui showed me a letter from Raikage-sama. He's prepared to name Darui his official successor, but there's just one problem, Darui isn't related to any jinchuuriki."

Naruto was silent, clearly focused on her, waiting for her to continue, which she did. "Therefore, Raikage-sama told Darui that if he wants to take over when A-sama retires, he has to marry me."

Suddenly, Naruto figured it out. "Neither of you really has a choice. If Darui-taicho wants to become Raikage, this is the easiest way for him to be eligible, and you gain a close tie to a Raikage, making it more likely that the village won't prematurely try to extract the Nibi..."

"Exactly, it's why he asked me to stay after our briefing, so we could discuss it. It's also why I didn't get much sleep last night. We're both going to think about it, and talk again after you and I return from this mission."

"Nee-chan...are you gonna do it?" Yugito chuckled, "As you said, I don't really have a choice in the matter. I admit I've never thought of Darui romantically, but he is kinda cute, and being the Raikage's wife would significantly increase my life expectancy. Also, I've never had any family outside of you and B, so the idea of possibly having one is kinda nice."

Again, Naruto was hugging her. "B-sensei and I will always be your family, nee-chan."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, before Naruto asked yet another question: "Nee-chan...if we do bring back Utakata, what's gonna happen to him?" "I don't know, Naruto. It likely depends on if he comes willingly or we bring him by force."

"Yugito-nee...I don't want any part of a mission that will result in the six tails being extracted from him."

"And I don't either, Naruto. But look at it this way, Raikage-sama's brother is not going to just stand there while a fellow jinchuuriki is killed like that. B will find someway to make sure that Utakata stays alive, after all we jinchuuriki have to stick together. You and I are doing our part, once Utakata actually gets to Kumo, B will do his."

"Yeah, B-sensei will make sure it's all right." Naruto said, largely reassured. He still had some concerns about the fate of his fellow jinchuuriki, but overall he was feeling much better. A would protect B, the Yotsuki clan would protect him, Darui would protect Yugito, and B would do his best for Utakata.

- _S_ _everal Days Later_ _-_

As Naruto and Yugito were on their way to the Mangrove Archipelago, a major breakthrough happened on Dragon Island.

It began the day the two jinchuuriki left, the leaders of the Kiri shinobi and Water Daimyo's samurai that had been tentatively working together to resist Konaha and Kumo, held a meeting to discuss how best to break the siege.

To the Kiri shinobi, the best way to do so was simple. Begin executing the civilian residents of the town until the invaders backed off. If they cared about the well being of the civilians as much as they claimed, they would withdraw. If not, it would help the defenders to conserve resources and expose the invaders as hypocrites.

To the samurai, the very idea of sacrificing innocent civilians was horrifying. These were citizens of the Land of Water, fellow subjects of the Daimyo. The idea was the exact opposite of the code of honor the samurai lived their life by. Late that night, they decided to do something about it.

Two days later, under the cover of darkness, a lone samurai snuck out of the city, carrying a flag of truce, and a message from the samurai commander: in exchange for allowing the civilians to evacuate, the samurai would surrender.

Once again, the Yotsuki clan were called upon, they erected a massive genjutsu over the city, along with the help of members of Konoha's Kurama clan, another clan known for their genjutsu prowess.

Cloud and Leaf Ninja then burst into the city, freeing the samurai and civilians from the genjutsu, and then aiding the samurai in an evacuation of the city. Others located the Kiri shinobi trapped in the genjutsu, and captured them.

True to their word, and their code of honor, the samurai surrendered, and by the time Naruto and Yugito arrived at the Mangrove Archipelago, the invaders easily took control of the city, completing the conquest of Dragon Island.

With the main population center of the western Land of Water firmly under their control, Tsume and Darui directed their forces to disperse, landing on several islands at a time, taking control of them and searching out, confronting, and eliminating any rebel or Kiri shinobi.

Meanwhile, the commanders began planning the invasion of the much more heavily populated, and better defended, islands that made up the eastern Land of Water. An undertaking that would be much more difficult than the first part of their invasion.

- _Iwa, The Tsuchikage's Office-_

"Aw, come on Gramps, you say I need more experience with diplomacy before I become Tsuchikage. How am I supposed to do that if you won't let me go on any missions where I can get that experience?" complained Kurotsuchi, granddaughter of the legendary "Onoiki The Fence Sitter."

Said legendary shinobi sat behind his desk and attempted to placate his obviously upset granddaughter, with minimal success. "Please, Kurotsuchi. It's not that I don't trust you with this assignment, it's that I don't trust Kumo. If they betray us, having my granddaughter there as a potential hostage may be too much for them to resist."

As an attempt to calm the tensions between the two villages following the revelation that Kumo and Konoha had signed a treaty, A had agreed to allow a diplomat and two guards from Iwa to be stationed in Kumo at all times. Once Kurotsuchi found out, she had begun to try to persuade her grandfather to make her one of the three shinobi that would go.

It worked for her on multiple fronts. Professionally, being a diplomat, or a diplomat's bodyguard, would look great on her resume, another feather in her cap on her quest to replace her grandfather when he finally decided to retire. Personally, she wanted to spend more time with Naruto, or as she knew him, "Z-kun."

Onoiki was understandably hesitant. Kumo had a treaty with Iwa's greatest enemy. That meant that Kumo was a potential enemy. Would it really be wise for him to send his granddaughter into what was possibly enemy territory for extended periods of time?

The old man certainly could be a stubborn, bastard at times. But this time, his stubbornness came from his love for Kurotsuchi. On one hand, while he had no intention of giving up his hat any time soon, he did genuinely want his granddaughter to be Tsuchikage one day.

On the other hand, while he understood that she was a kunoichi, and a damn good one at that, her safety was something he had to consider.

It turns out though, that much like her grandfather, Kurotsuchi could be incredibly stubborn, and the two had been going back and forth for several days. Kurotsuchi refused to give up. Finally, the old fence sitter relented, though only partially.

"*Sigh* I'm sorry, but I won't allow you to be permanently stationed in Kumo." The old man said, clearly not happy that he had to upset his granddaughter, but firm in his decision. "I will put you in charge of the team that will spend one week per month in Kumo, delivering correspondence from me to our diplomatic team, and returning here with their reports. Is that acceptable?"

Kurotsuchi was just surprised that the notoriously stubborn and set in his ways Tsuchikage had even conceded a little ground, and quickly moved to take advantage of it. "I suppose that will have to do, but you owe me one, jiji!"

"Hmph. Fine then." Onoiki responded, letting a small smile spread across his face. "I suppose I can treat my granddaughter to some ice cream." he then floated up from his desk and then began to head out the door.

"Gramps! I'm not a little kid, I'm a ninja!" Kurotsuchi protested. "Oh? So you're telling me you don't want ice cream?" Onoiki said in a sing-song-like voice that was totally unexpected from the famously crass Tsuchikage. "….alright, let's go." Slightly embarrassed, but really wanting ice cream, Kurotsuchi followed her grandfather out of the office.

- _Later, The Land of Water-_

Amidst a small cluster of mangrove trees, two figures emerged from the complicated maze of roots jutting into the water. After several days of travel, Team Yugito had arrived at the Mangrove Archipelago.

Under the cover of a storm, Theta and his hardened crew had managed to maneuver their sturdy ship to within a few kilometers of shore, and Naruto and Yugito had ran the rest of the way. True, the storm meant it took much more chakra control than normal to run across the rough waters, but it wasn't all that different than fighting on water.

After arriving at one of the islands, the two jinchuuriki had taken shelter under a small overhang, shielded by the roots of the trees that leant their name to the cluster of tiny islands and atolls, until morning sun brought with it calm waters, the storm had passed.

Now, disguised as two smugglers looking for work in this notorious haven of the criminal underworld, the two began their hunt for Utakata. Both had an air of confidence about them. It wouldn't be long until Kumo had its fourth tailed beast.

- _End of Chapter-_

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Apologies for how long it has taken me to update. Life happened, new job happened, starting my Master's Thesis happened (and continues to happen,) then the World Cup happened (congrats to any French people reading this.) This is a very busy summer for me, but I continue to work on these stories when time allows.

Also, apologies for the fact that this chapter is a bit shorter than they have been recently. I'm hoping to make up for it with a larger than average one next time.

Q: Can you do a Naruto/Fu Pairing? (There was also a question about Naruto just meeting Fu, which is also answered)

A: That actually sounds like a pretty interesting pairing. I'm intrigued, but I just don't see it happening in this story. The odds of Naruto and Fu meeting each other? Moderately High. The odds of them becoming romantically involved beyond, say a one night stand? Moderately Low.

There's a low key Bijuu arms race going on, and Fu is the only one solidly under Konoha's control at the moment. Sure, Gaara is very friendly with Konoha, since he was 'rehabilitated' there and all, and Suna is a very loyal ally, so maybe give Konoha 1 and ½ Jinchuuriki. Let's say Naruto and Fu end up together, neither Konoha nor Kumo is going to allow one of their jinchuuriki to just up and move, it's simply not possible without one or both of them going rogue and possibly starting a war. Not saying it can't or won't happen, but it is unlikely.

Thanks for reading,

-Col. Bogey


	26. Chapter 19: Confrontation and Standoff

-I don't own Naruto. Naruto was created by Kishimoto, please support the official release. Thanks for reading my first attempt at fan fiction-

 _Italics are thoughts. -Italics inside hyphens are the setting-_

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- _The Mangrove Archipelago-_

"Oh, yeah. There was a man matching that description here a couple weeks ago, had a young woman with him. I think he went to one of the small atolls to the north of here."

"Thanks very much, sir." Yotsuki Naruto responded, as he put away his copy of a Bingo book, having shown the picture of Utakata inside said book to most of the merchants in what constituted the market in this sparsely populated area. Which is to say, he had shown it to the fruit vendor, the seafood vendor, and the guy who imported home goods and trinkets from the rest of the Land of Water, but not vegetable vendor. It really was a small market.

With his information acquired, he made his way back to the rendezvous point, eager to meet up with Yugito and see if she had learned anything on one of the other tiny islands.

Twenty minutes later, the two jinchuuriki met on a tiny strip of land nestled in between the two islands they had been on, and compared notes. It turned out that Yugito had gotten similar information to Naruto. A man matching Utakata's description had been seen on a deserted island at the northern edge of the Archipelago, in the company of a young woman.

They had been there for a couple weeks, and at least occasionally visited the island Naruto had been on for supplies, but otherwise kept to themselves.

Naruto and Yugito both quickly geared up, excited by the fact that this was the freshest lead they had on the Six-Tails, and headed out for said island. Still, they were hesitant, Matatabi was unable to sense the presence of any other Bijuu besides the Kyuubi. It was possible that Utakata and his female companion had moved on.

It took them about two hours of running across the water at half speed, before the atoll in question came into view. They could have got there quicker, but they felt the need to conserve chakra, this was the rare occasion they would possibly have to fight someone with chakra reserves equal to their own.

The unnamed, deserted island was very barren, and no more than two or three feet above water at its highest point. At said highest point, there was a lone palm tree, possibly a coconut producing tree, but it was too far away to say for certain.

As they got closer, the two jinchuuriki could see a lone figure sitting in the shade of the tree, possibly meditating. _One person? What happened to his companion?_ both thought, and they quickly nodded to each other, silently agreeing to approach more carefully, it could be a trap.

Finally, they set foot on the sandy strip of land, and walked with purpose towards the tree. As they continued to get closer, it became clear that this was not Utakata. So who was it?

Finally, Naruto was close enough to identify the mysterious man. _Long gray-ish white hair, red robes...Jiraya?! The Hell?_

As if he had read the young jinchuuriki's mind, the Toad Sage grinned, opened his eyes, and stood up. "Yugito-san, Naruto. Fancy seeing you here." "Jiraya-san," Yugito offered a sight bow as she spoke, her tone cold, a mix of frustration and confusion. "What brings you all the way out here?"

"I could ask the two of you the same question." Jiraya responded. "Why would Darui, the man purported to be the next Raikage, make the curious decision to move his two biggest chess pieces in this war all the way out to such a strategically insignificant place as this?"

Yugito quickly answered, wanting to preempt Naruto, who was more likely to blurt something out. It was possible, though unlikely, this was all a big coincidence, and she didn't want her quasi-little brother accidentally revealing their true purpose for being present.

"Darui-sama merely sent us here to follow up on a lead." It wasn't a lie, but it also didn't reveal anything.

"Sending you two merely to scout? Must have been some lead. That's ok though, I actually came here following a lead myself, and it appears that unlike you two, I actually found what I was looking for."

"Oh, and what was that?"

Jiraya smirked, Yugito was fishing for information, and he was about to drop a bombshell. "I found one of your fellow Jinchuuriki, Utakata-san. I'm afraid the two of you are too late, by now the Six Tails is in Konoha."

Yugito scowled at the news, but managed to stay calm. Naruto on the other hand, took a fighting stance. "What the hell did you do to him, you bastard!?"

"Naruto, calm down!" Yugito barked. Jiraya's grin was even wider as he egged Naruto on. "Come now, we are allies in this war are we not? If Utakata had decided to intervene it would have caused a big problem, Konoha simply decided to remove the possible threat."

There was absolutely nothing that Yugito and Naruto could do, and all three of them knew it. Removing a possibly hostile Jinchuuriki from the theater of war was indeed a solid strategy, and Konoha and Kumo both had several operations going in the Land of Water that were classified and kept secret from the other village. Pursuing Utakata any further would be an act of war against Konoha. Team Yugito had failed.

"What did you do to him?" Naruto seethed, assuming the worst. Utakata was supposedly an isolationist and introvert, in Naruto's mind there was no way that he would ever willingly go to Konoha.

"All I did was verbally give Utakata-san an invitation from the Hokage. He's the one who decided to take Tsunade-hime up on her offer and left for Konoha," Jiraya responded, clearly loving the situation. "Since our villages are allies in this war I'd be more that willing to tell you how it all happened."

- _Flashback-_

Taking advantage of the unique skill sets of both Jiraya and Fu, the Sanin and his kunoichi companions made very good time to the Mangrove Archipelago.

Fu simply flew, having the ability to manifest wings due to being the jinchuuriki of the seven tails. On her back, were two toads, each with one of her human companions in their stomachs.

They stopped one night to rest, but otherwise made excellent time, and about 36 hours after departing Dragon Island, the Toads spat out their summoner and his apprentice on the solid ground of the Mangrove Archipelago.

After Jiraya and Tenten had stretched to work out the kinks of being in relatively cramped conditions for so long, and Tenten had finished complaining about traveling by Toad Stomach, Fu got both of her companions' attention.

"The Seven Tails can sense the Six Tails's presence. Utakata-san is definitely here. Please tell me we're not here to kill him or anything." Like the jinchuuriki from Kumo, Fu had mixed feelings about this mission.

That being said, this was her first mission as a shinobi of Konoha. Already, her life in the Leaf, brief as it had been, was far better than her old life in Taki, and she wanted to prove her loyalty to her new village. She'd attack her fellow jinchuuriki if necessary, but she wasn't going to like it.

"If your tenant could sense him, than he probably knows you're here as well, though he might not be expecting us." Jiraya said. "We approach carefully, and don't worry Fu, all I want to do is talk to him."

Somewhat reassured, Fu communed with Chomei again, in order to pin down Utakata's location, before directing her companions. "He's that way. Probably one or two islands north of us."

 _-The same island on which Naruto and Yugito confront Jiraya-_

As Fu had anticipated, Utakata was waiting for them, standing in the middle of the island, letting out a small amount of killer intent, sending a warning that he wasn't pleased about the pending confrontation.

As the three Konoha shinobi arrived, he spared a glance and nod towards Fu, acknowledging his sister-in-burden, before turning his attention to the man who was clearly not only the leader of this team, but one of the most well known ninja in the shinobi world:

"So, Jiraya of the Sanin. What do you want with me?" His voice was rather cold, with perhaps a slight hint of annoyance or anger. Not too surprising, it was well known that Utakata simply wished to be left alone. "Never mind, I don't really care. Since you bring a fellow jinchuuriki with you, I won't kill you, so long as you leave now."

"Please, Utakata-san. I have no interest in asking you to involve yourself in world affairs. I simply wish to speak to you about something." Jiraya responded. The Six Tailed Jinchuuriki seemed uninterested, and his chakra spiked as if he was preparing for combat, however, before a battle could begin, the other jinchuuriki present intervened.

"What Jiraya-sama wishes to speak to you about concerns us, and our burdens. Please, Utakata-san, listen too him." Fu pleaded.

To the surprise and delight of the Konoha team, it seems that matters concerning jinchuuriki and Bijuu were enough to sway Utakata, because his response gave them an opportunity: "Very well, I shall hear what you have to say. But afterwards you will **leave**."

With no choice but to accept those terms, Jiraya consented, and then launched into his spiel. "What do you know of a group known as the Akatsuki?"

It was probably not the best way to start, because Utakata did not seem interested. "I have never heard of them. You waste my time by speaking of some insignificant group?"

"They are far more than insignificant. The Akatsuki are a group of S-rank missing-nins who have made it their goal to extract all of the bijuu for their own, unknown, uses. They are hunting all nine of you. They wear black cloaks that have red clouds on them."

Utakata still seemed unimpressed. "And why should they concern me? Jinchuuriki are powerful opponents, easily capable of handling an S-ranked enemy or two."

"What if I told you that one of their teams was comprised of Kisame Hoshigaki and Itachi Uchiha? And that they aren't even the most powerful members of the organization?"

That finally got a reaction from Utakata. He was about six years younger than Kisame, and they were both originally from Kiri. Of course he was aware of the famous "Tailed Best Without A Tail." As for Itachi Uchiha...who hadn't heard of the man who had killed his entire clan? Both were dangerous opponents.

Utakata took a brief moment to ponder the information, before continuing to respond in the cold, slightly hostile manner he had spoken with for the entire conversation. "Indeed. That is something to be aware of. Thank you for the intelligence, now go."

"Wait." Fu intervened again. "You just think you can continue as normal despite all of this?" Again, Utakata looked over to his fellow jinchuuriki, but his voice remained as cold as it had when speaking with Jiraya. "Girl, I'm an S-class missing-nin in my own right. I can more than handle the threat."

"What of the girl over there?" Tenten entered the conversation for the first time, having spotted Utakata's female companion. "The Akatsuki aren't above using someone as a hostage. What if they take her captive? What would you do?"

For the first time since they had met him, Utakata seemed truly dumbfounded. _What would I do if they captured Hotaru? She...she believes herself to be my student. It is a teacher's job to protect their student. Plus, she's more to me than just that._

Utakata looked behind him at the blond haired woman whose head poked out from behind the lone tree, and motioned for her to join the others, before turning back to the konoha ninja and answering Tenten's question with one of his own. "You make a fair point. What would you have me do then?"

Jiraya then jumped back into the discussion. "Hokage-sama wishes to speak to you about not only your safety, but that of your companion as well. She has invited you to Konoha to speak with you, and we're just here to deliver the invitation."

It was an invitation made in good faith. Tsunade and Jiraya had their vices: Gambling for her, Women for him, and Sake for both, but they were generally honorable people.

While the end goal was to convince Utakata to defect to Konoha, the offer to meet and talk was just that. Both the sanin were well aware that they would have to tread very cautiously with the skeptical, distrusting, and somewhat anti-social jinchuuriki. Winning over Utakata would be a much more difficult and delicate task that "reforming" Gaara, or gaining the loyalty of Fu.

While the offer was genuine, Utakata, used to how most people manipulated jincuuriki for their own gain, didn't take it as such. "I see what you are up to. Once I get inside the village walls then what happens? Torture and brainwashing until I'm a willing slave like this one?" He said motioning to Fu, "or will you simply extract my tenant and re-seal it into a more loyal tool? No. I will not go to Konoha."

Jiraya frowned. Personally, he understood why Utakata was distrusting. Kiri and Konoha had never been friends, and as a jinchuuriki, it was likely that Utakata had little trust in humanity in general, much less people from an enemy village.

Still, however sympathetic he may have been, Jiraya's loyalty to Konoha, and especially his personal loyalty to Tsunade, outweighed his understanding of Utakata's situation. The woman he loved more than anything else in the world had tasked him with retrieving the jinchuuriki of the Six Tails, and Jiraya would not fail her.

Hotaru appeared by Utakata's side, having only heard the word "Konoha," and quickly noticed the leaf headbands on the three strangers. _Konoha Shinobi..._

An idea quickly popped into her head. She was tired of running from the Hunter-ninja, they always interfered with her training with Utakata-sensei. She needed to become a strong kunoichi if she was going to live up to her grandfather's legacy and will, and every time they had to relocate after the hunters found them, it delayed her training significantly. So she took a chance.

She spoke to Jiraya and his companions with the confidence and authority that someone of her heritage should, completely surprising Utakata.

"I am Hotaru Tsuchigumo, granddaughter of En no Gyoja and rightful heiress of the Tsuchigumo Clan. My grandfather once made a pact with your Third Hokage. The Hokage promised to come to my clan's aid, and Utakata-sensei and I are in need of your assistance. I seek your protection for both sensei and I, so that we can finish my training."

Her name, and the treaty she mentioned, was lost on two of the three Konoha shinobi, who had never heard of the Tsuchigumo Clan. But for Jiraya, the revelation of the girl's ancestry was just too perfect. She had unknowingly given him the ammunition he needed to convince Utakata to go to Konoha.

"Of course, Tsuchigumo-sama." He said, bowing deeply to her, though it was only just for show. "I am Jiraya of the Sanin, and Sarutobi-sensei, the Third Hokage, was my teacher and mentor. I remember well when your grandfather visited Konoha and signed the treaty. It would be best if you return to Konoha and meet with the Fifth Hokage, but in the meantime I will place the two of you under my personal protection."

Hotaru smiled, but Utakata frowned, which didn't go unnoticed by his "student." Perhaps sensing his reluctance to go along with this, she took things one step further. "As the rightful leader of my Clan, I herby place Utakata-sensei under the protection of the Tsuchigumo Clan, any disreputable action you take against him will result in the revocation of our treaty, and I will personally see my clan's kinjutsu unleashed upon your village."

"Of course." Jiraya responded, having cringed a bit at the thought of that kinjutsu being unleashed on Konoha. "As I told Utakata-san earlier, the Hokage merely wishes to speak to him." Hotaru nodded, content with the answer, and turned to stare at Utakata, awaiting her Sensei's decision.

The Kiri missing-nin's mind was spinning. Hotaru had always been a docile, quiet, and largely compliant and obedient travel companion and "student." She displayed a fire and determination about training to be a powerful kunoichi, yet in all other aspects of their time together she had deferred to him.

Yet now she had a fire about her that he had never seen before, and the look she was giving him told him that she'd be very upset if he refused Jiraya's offer.

 _Konoha is well known for being the most loyal of the villages. If they make a treaty, they stand by it. I suppose that means I'm safe, and I have to admit, I kind of like this new side of Hotaru-chan...wait, -chan?_

"I suppose I don't have a choice, it is clear that the three of you won't just walk away, and even if we manage to allude you I'll never hear the end of it." He said, surrendering to what seemed to be his fate.

Almost immediately, a pair of arms wrapped around him. "Thank you, sensei" Hotaru muttered, as she buried her head in his chest. Utakata's face instantly turned a deep crimson, but he kept enough of his composure to continue with their usual banter. "How many times do I have to tell you? I'm not your teacher, don't call me sensei."

Meanwhile, the three Konoha ninja were all elated. Mission successful, and with no confrontation. It was especially a relief for Fu, but the true test still remained: What would Konoha do with Utakata?

How the village leadership treated him could possibly reflect how they would treat her, and while she had enjoyed her time in the Leaf so far, it was still early. She'd gain a lot of insight into what to expect based on how they treated her brother-in-burden.

After a brief discussion, Fu manifested her wings again, while Utakata encased himself and Hotaru in one bubble, and Tenten, who was frustrated by yet another unconventional travel method, but still grateful to be traveling via a method other than toad stomach, in another one, and the four of them departed for Konoha.

Jiraya watched them go, having chosen to stay behind for a couple days and see who all was on Utakata's trail. He had a feeling that his godson wouldn't be too far behind.

- _End Flashback-_

The version of the story that Jiraya told to Naruto and Yugito was pretty similar to the truth, but with one major change. Anything that would risk exposing Fu's status as a Jinchuuriki was left out. In fact, Fu was not included in his story at all. In this version, he, the gallant toad sage, did all the work. Tenten was just kind of there, and no one else was with them.

Allies of convenience or not, he was unwilling to reveal that Konoha had acquired a jinchuuriki from Taki. Kumo could know that Konoha had Utakata, but Fu would be a secret weapon, at least for now.

As he finished his tale, Yugito quickly analyzed the situation. With both a bijuu, and possibly a much feared kinjutsu under their influence, Konoha was suddenly looking much stronger than before. These revelations would likely impact the way A approached diplomacy with Konoha.

Still, things could be worse. Konoha had shown a genuine interest in building ties with Kumo, and for now the revelation that Utakata was in Konoha was a better outcome than capture by the Akatsuki, or his deciding to join the war on the side of either the rebels or Kiri.

The problem was Naruto. Clouded by his own treatment while in Konoha, and firm in his conviction that all jinchuuriki were "siblings," he was understandably enraged. In his mind Utakata, would suffer nothing but abuse in Konoha, and he was not happy about it. In addition, Naruto really didn't like Jiraya. His abandonment as a baby was not something he had forgotten, much less forgiven.

Already, it was clear that in his rage, some of the fox's chakra was leaking out, as his eyes were now red, his front teeth had become fangs, and a thin orange veil had begun to surround his body. A fact that had not gone unnoticed by Jiraya.

"Hey now," The sanin protested, while also taking a defensive stance. "Our villages are allies in this war, you attack me for doing my job and you risk not only the end of the alliance, but possibly a four-way war."

His words fell on deaf ears, as the tailed-beast cloak around Naruto continued to emerge, and he spat out condemnations and curses towards Konoha, and the toad sage specifically, voice full of anger.

In order to avoid a major international incident, Yugito stepped in. She was a perfect Jinchuuriki, and as such she could manifest her own Bijuu cloak much quicker than Naruto could, and was much more powerful and intimidating with said cloak.

She immediately went to the full Cloak, and barked orders at Naruto. "Chunin Yotsuki Naruto, you will stop this instant or I will stop you myself! That is a direct order from your superior officer."

Naruto's mind was not so far lost to rage as to ignore the suddenly intimidating jinchuuriki next to him, and he quickly regained his composure and dropped his cloak, but the damage was done. The amount of Bijuu chakra the two Kumo-nin had let out was like a beacon to anyone that could sense chakra in the whole of the Mangrove Archipelago, and almost immediately a group of Hunter Ninja descended on them.

"We were looking for Utakata-san, but it appears we have stumbled upon some invaders." The leader of the Hunters said. "I suppose Mei-sama would be pleased if we brought in the bounties of the famous Jiraya and Yugito Nii."

Having been so isolated from the rest of the shinobi world due to the civil war, Naruto had yet to appear in any Kiri bingo book. Due to his strong performance in the chunin exams, Naruto appeared in just about every other bingo book in the region, though at this point no village or group was actually offering a bounty on his head.

Still, in the Land of Water, he remained largely anonymous, which meant that the mist rebels essentially ignored him.

Even when their group consisted of a Sanin, a Perfect Jinchuuriki, and a non-perfect jinchuuriki that still had partial control over his bijuu chakra, this fight gave the three Leaf and Cloud ninja pause.

Kiri was known for two things: The village's brutal training methods, which had played no small part in the village earning the moniker "The Bloody Mist," and their hunter ninja. Even if these hunters were loyal to the rebels, they were likely still extremely skilled.

Most Kiri Hunter ninja were talented enough to be ANBU captains in all of the other major villages, and within the Land of Water, only the Seven Ninja Swordsmen and the Mizukage were said to be more powerful.

And there were a lot of them on the island. It seemed that Mei Terumi had dispatched a good chunk of her hunters to track down the wayward jinchuuriki, because there were a dozen of them staring down Jiraya, Yugito, and Naruto.

A brief standoff occurred, as the two groups sized each other up and silently contemplated their strategies. No one seemed willing to make the first move, and before anyone could do so, a new voice spoke up. "Well, look at that, Itachi-kun. Jiraya and the Two-Tails are facing off with some hunter-nin, this should be entertaining."

Up from the water strode Kisame Hoshigaki, the corpse of a middle aged man draped over his shoulder. Next to him was his companion and teammate, Itachi Uchiha, Konoha's secret spy inside the Akatsuki.

Kisame was well known to the Hunter-nin, while the appearance of the Akatsuki was a disturbing turn of events for Yugito, and Naruto. Their appearance altered the dynamic of the standoff, which now had three sides.

Jiraya covertly nodded to Itachi, who silently cast Tsukuyomi on the Sanin, allowing the two of them to have an entire conversation over the course of just a couple seconds.

"Itachi, what are you doing here?" "Jiraya-sama, we were tasked with dealing with the man whose corpse is in the possession of my associate. He was a smuggler who once did business with the Akatsuki, but whom recently betrayed the organization. Kakuzu wanted him dead, and sent us to deal with him. Then we felt the immense amount of chakra being released here, and came to investigate."

"Anything else?" "Yes, We had heard that the jinchuuriki of the six tails was in the area, and wanted to confirm his whereabouts. Of all the jinchuuriki besides the 9-Tails, he is the one we have had the most trouble keeping track of, though given the amount of Chakra that has been released, I believe Kisame will suspect that boy of being the 9-Tails. I suppose it would be to our advantage to have the Akatsuki believe the 9-Tails is in Kumo."

"Ehh...about that..." "...That boy is actually the 9-tails jinchuuriki, isn't he?" "Yes." "How did he end up in Kumo, Jiraya-sama?"

"That is a long and complicated story. The short version is that the boy is Minato and Kushina's son, but the villagers knew the fox was sealed inside him and believed him to be a demon. Eventually, the mistreatment he constantly faced allowed Kumo spies to figure out who and what he was, and they kidnapped him when he was less than two years old. Even before you "betrayed" the village."

"I see." Itachi had long been reputed to be a genius, and it was a credit to that reputation that he very quickly came up with an excellent plan. "I believe it is possible for us to take advantage of the confusion from the three-way battle that is clearly about to happen. It would be possible for you to kidnap Minato-sama's son and return him to Konoha, yet have the blame fall on the Akatsuki."

Jiraya was tempted, he really was. Naruto belonged in Konoha, he was the son of a Hokage for Kami's sake. Seeing the cloud headband on someone who looked so much like Minato, and whose personality was somewhat similar to Kushina's was just awkward, especially since Kumo had once tried to kidnap Naruto's mother, only to have their ninja defeated by his father.

Still, as much as his heart said yes, and despite his reputation as a drunken lecher, Jiraya did posses the wisdom of a sage, and his mind clearly knew better. Naruto was loyal to Kumo, and outside of a small group of people, hated Konoha.

If Jiraya took him, he'd have to be kept under 24 hour surveillance in an ANBU prison, watched by a special team who had the requisite knowledge of Fuinjutsu to be able to monitor his seal and make sure Naruto didn't unleash the Kyuubi on Konoha.

There were relatively few people in the village who had such skill, and with a war going on, they couldn't really be wasting time acting as glorified prison guards.

Furthermore, if Kumo should somehow find out where Naruto was, and how he got there, it would mean war. While it was true that Jiraya had once advocated for war against Kumo over Naruto, that was before the war in the Land of Water.

Fighting two wars at the same time was something that should be avoided. There was also the fact that improving relations with Kumo was a priority of Tsunade's.

Granted, Naruto was a big reason why she was focused on improving those ties, but Jiraya knew he'd be in for a world of pain if he kidnapped the boy and she found out about it. Most likely even more pain than that one time she caught him peeking on her in the Hot springs when they were younger. So despite his desire to see his godson back home, Jiraya had to decline Itachi's offer, at least for now.

Meanwhile, outside the Tsukuyomi, only a couple of seconds had passed, and Jiraya became aware of his surroundings again just in time to take in some major developments.

The hunters seemed to have decided upon a new target, at least based off of the declaration the captain of the Hunters made. "Kisame Hoshigaki. The bounty on your head would be enough to fund Terumi-sama's operations for years to come."

In response, Kisame broke into a toothy smile, "So, you all work for Mei-chan then? The two of us go way back, I'd ask you to tell her I said hi, but if you're all going to be fighting me then I'm afraid none of you will be left alive to deliver the message."

As he spoke, he set the corpse of the man who had betrayed the Akatsuki down, and removed the legendary, sentient sword Samehada from its holster on his back.

Once again, a brief standoff occurred, as the hunters and the Akatsuki sized each other up. This time though, Jiraya, Yugito, and Naruto were all seemingly forgotten, and they stood silently and watched, engrossed in what was happening in front of them.

Finally, growing impatient, Kisame was the one who made the first move. The "Tailed Beast without a tail" lunged towards his enemies, swinging Samehada towards them, but each of them dodged rather effortlessly.

Though considerably more powerful than any individual hunter, Kisame was at a distinct disadvantage in the fight. He was a Kiri missing-nin, and these were Hunter-nins who specialized in tracking down traitors to the Hidden Mist.

As the single most notorious of any of their targets, Kisame's skills and abilities, along with those of his legendary sword, were well known to all Hunters in the Land of Water, while he was generally unaware of the skills of any individual opponent.

In short, though Kisame was by far the most powerful warrior in the battle, he was outnumbered twelve to one by opponents who were thoroughly familiar with his skills and abilities, and just ever so slightly outmatched.

If these hunters hadn't possessed a detailed knowledge of his abilities, he would have mowed through them, the problem was that they did, in fact, possess such knowledge. In addition, as with all rogue ninja from Kiri, the hunters had predetermined strategies designed to take advantage of their weaknesses.

In Kisame's case, the hunters focused on conserving energy over anything else. The Shark summoning Akatsuki member had incredible chakra reserves, and was strong enough that most jutsu weren't powerful enough to deal much damage to him. However, with so many hunters, many of them could "rest" while others focused on the battle, allowing them to rotate and stay relatively fresh.

The strategy for taking on Kisame in the hunters' Bingo Book was to focus on dodging his attacks, and let him slowly wear down his reserves, while needling him with smaller attacks, like senbon, rotating out when one's own chakra reserves began to dip too low. It was one that Yagura himself had developed for his own hunters, most of whom now worked for Mei and the rebels.

After a few minutes, it seemed that the strategy was working. Kisame would lunge with samehada, or fire off a jutsu, that was inevitably dodged by the agile ANBU warriors, and those shinobi who were actively engaged in the fight, but who weren't being attacked, would counter with smaller ninjutsu and projectiles. Not enough to defeat Kisame anytime soon, but it was clear that they were ever so slowly wearing him down as Itachi, Jiraya, Yugito, and Naruto looked on.

Finally, Itachi once again cast Tsukuyomi on the Toad Sage, having prepared a plan of his own. "It is clear that I am going to be required to assist my associate. I believe that will give you an opportunity to escape, Jiraya-sama."

After about another minute of realtime, Itachi ran forward to assist his teammate, and Jiraya quickly jumped into action, turning to his 'allies' to discuss possible avenues of escape. "Alright you two, either one of you have an escape route prepared? To me it looks like our best bet is to head to one of the other islands and steal a boat."

As soon as Itachi had joined the fight, Naruto had come to his own realization that escape was his best bet, and had begun channeling his chakra. As he drew blood and ran through hand signals, he said: "I'd get going then if I were you. As for Yugito-nee and I, I've got our escape covered." Then, slamming his palm into the ground, he called out: Summoning Jutsu!"

A large great-horned owl appeared, not his usual familiar, but one more along the size of some of Jiraya's toads, such as Gamaken and Gamabunta. Naruto quickly grabbed Yugito by the arm and hopped onto one of the owl's oversized talons, imploring the owl to take flight and head back towards Dragon Island.

With a great flap of its wings, which caused a strong gust of wind, the owl took to the skies, and was soon out of range for any attacks a pursuer might wish to use, leaving Jiraya to summon an ally of his own. A small toad named Gamakichi, whom he simply asked to return to Mount Myoboku and have him reverse summoned there.

Less than a minute later, the Toad Sage disappeared in a poof of smoke, leaving the Akatsuki and the hunter-ninja to their battle.

- _One Hour Later-_

From a distance, the tiny atoll with the lone tree seemed to have been dyed red. Upon closer inspection, 11 dismembered bodies were strewn around the tree, and the sand had absorbed so much blood that it had begun to turn red.

Among the carnage stood two figures, both wearing long black cloaks with red clouds. "Well, that was fun, right Itachi? Too bad that one guy got away." Kisame was smiling as he spoke. "It's been a long time sine I've been able to let loose like that. It's a shame the jinchuuriki got away though, she would have been real fun to play with."

The introduction of Itachi into the fight had tipped the scales in the Akatsuki's favor. One of the hunters had managed to escape, having lost an arm in the process, but the dead bodies of the others lay strewn around the two Akatsuki.

"I would not worry about it too much, Kisame." Itachi nonchalantly responded, seemingly unfazed. "We were only sent here to deal with the traitor, and we accomplished that mission. We were not sent here to retrieve the nibi."

Kisame could only nod in agreement, the order to resume pursuit of the tailed beasts and their hosts had not yet been given. Still, something was clearly bothering him, and after a brief silence, he spoke his mind.

"Ne, Itachi-kun, when we first sensed the Bijuu chakra, didn't it seem like there were two sources? Yet there was only one jinchuuriki here. You don't suppose that kid was..."

Itachi liked Kisame, he really did, but he had no loyalty to the Akatsuki, and his answer reflected that. He didn't lie to Kisame per say, he just directed his comrade's train of thought away from the truth.

"Kumo is known to have two jinchuuriki. We encountered Yugito Nii, the other is the Raikage's brother, Killer B. Which means that if that boy were to be a jinchuuriki, the Raikage would have had to have killed his own brother and resealed the eight-tails into that boy."

"And if not even you, "Clan-killer Itachi," could kill your own brother, than certainly the Raikage couldn't, huh? You're right, we must have been imagining things."

Itachi merely nodded, and remained silent, as his thoughts drifted to his own wayward brother, but before he could dwell on Sasuke for too long, Kisame had another question for him.

"When do you think we will begin pursuing the Jinchuuriki?" Itachi took a moment to collect his thoughts on that one. He still didn't have as much insight into the leaders of the Akatsuki, or their motivations and thought processes, as he would have liked. Still, even if he couldn't predict their plans, there did seem to be one somewhat obvious answer.

"I would guess Leader-sama will expend considerable resources to recover the Three-Tails after it reforms. Once we have it in our possession, I believe we will begin targeting the jinchuuriki that are in the villages."

Predictably, Kisame grinned. The man wasn't 'evil' per se, but he really enjoyed fighting challenging opponents, and killing them. Being able to fight jinchuuriki was one of the main reasons he was in the Akatsuki. "I can't wait, Itachi-kun."

"Come along, then." Itachi said, motioning for Kisame to retrieve the body of their original target. "Kisame wants that body ASAP so he can claim the bounty on it, and we probably need to report our encounter with the two tails to Leader-sama."

The two men left the island at a casual pace, with a destination in mind, but clearly in no particular hurry to get there, as was normal for them. They paid no mind to the bodies of their defeated opponents, which were left to rot in the tropical sun.

To get off of the Archipelago, Kisame summoned four sharks, taking two for himself and leaving two for his companion. He set one foot on top of each shark, and the apex predators of the ocean swam off in tandem, allowing Kisame to ride them off into the setting sun. Itachi followed suit.

- _The Next Day, Darui's Command Tent-_

"So Konoha beat us to it, damn. Sorry to say it, but I'm gonna have to report to the boss that the two of you failed, even if it was through no fault of your own."

"Of course, please convey our apologies to Raikage-sama. I accept whatever punishment he deems necessary, Darui-taicho."

Yugito and Naruto were kneeling in front of Darui's desk as they debriefed. Yugito was clearly very embarrassed, she never failed a mission before, and just like that her sterling record as one of Kumo's most reliable agents was smeared.

What was worse, she had been in command of the mission. She was humiliated, and reporting said failure to a man that she might potentially have to marry only made things worse.

Naruto wasn't quite as downtrodden as his "big sister" was, but also knew this was a time to show humility, and had joined her in kneeling for the briefing, non-verbally begging for forgiveness.

Darui leaned back in his chair, trying to both figure how to reassure the two people in front of him, and write his report on the failed mission in a way that wouldn't cause A to blow his top when he read it.

The first of those two tasks was easier. "As I said, it's not your fault. You made good time to the archipelago, and made good time tracking down your target. If anything it's my fault for not anticipating that Konoha would be going after a jinchuuriki as well. It only makes sense that they'd be looking to recover one, since they've been without for so many years."

In an attempt to liven up the somber mood of everyone in the tent, Naruto tried to move past their last mission. "What happens next, Darui-taicho?"

"Well, the war is going well, and Samui and her subordinates seem to have the whole obtaining kekkai genkai for the village thing figured out. I honestly don't think you're needed here anymore, and wouldn't be surprised if you both are recalled back to Kumo. Simply put, the risks of keeping you two out here now outweigh the possible rewards."

Naruto frowned. While of course he wanted to go home and see his parents, he didn't like the idea of abandoning his friends and clansmen that were still fighting in the war. Seeing Naruto's reaction, Darui attempted to placate him. "Still, that's all up to Raikage-sama, not me. It'll likely be a few days until I hear back from him, until then, you're dismissed, Naruto."

Naruto wanted to stay and protest the idea of going home mid war, but he realized that doing so would be futile, when it came to jinchuuriki, only the Raikage would be making such decisions. So Naruto offered a bow to his superior officers, and left the tent, leaving Darui and Yugito alone.

"Well, now that he's gone, let's move on to our other business." Darui said, "have you given it some more thought?"

"Yes." Yugito responded. "My thoughts remain the same. Regardless of wether or not it ever turns romantic, it seems our marriage is inevitable." Seeing Darui nod his head, she prompted him. "I take it you agree?"

"Yeah. Like it or not, we both need this. There's too much to lose if we refuse." Yugito could only offer a sad nod in agreement. The goals of these two people, who, honestly, barely knew each other beyond their respective reputations, were now intertwined.

Through Yugito, Darui could become Raikage. Through Darui, Yugito could gain some stability and certainty in the uncertain and unstable life of a jinchuuriki.

There was a brief, incredibly awkward silence, before Darui spoke again. "I'll let the boss know we both accept the arrangement." Yugito gave him a nod, before asking, "Am I dismissed, taicho?"

Seeing her commander/quasi-fiance nod, Yugito left, wrapped up in her own world. Between her mission failure, and her future marriage of convenience, she had a lot on her mind. Perhaps she'd go find Samui. Pestering the always "cool" and quick to judge woman had always helped ease her mind.

Quickly making up her mind, Yugito set off to find and embarrass her oldest friend, jumping head first into escapism to avoid, at least for now, the thoughts that seemed to constantly race through her mind.

- _End of Chapter-_

Jinchuuriki Tally:

Kumo: 3 (2, 8, 9)

Konoha: 2 (6, 7)

Iwa: 2 (4, 5)

Suna: 1 (1)

Akatsuki: 0 (for now)

Currently unavailable: 1 (3)

No matter how hard Naruto tries, he just can't escape Konoha huh? Now they've caused him to fail a mission! But in all honesty, there was never any chance of Konoha coming out of this arc without another tailed beast. As much as this is a Naruto in Kumo story, Konoha remains a huge part of the plot, and I wasn't going to have Kumo lap them in terms of power.

This chapter basically wraps up our main character's time in the Land of Water. The war there will still be referenced occasionally, but Naruto's part in it is over. So what comes next for our protagonist? You'll just have to wait and see I guess.

Q: So if you aren't going to pair Fu with Naruto, will you at least pair her with Shino?

A: FuxShino is a pairing that I'm already planning on using...in my other story! In this one? If I pair someone with Fu, you most likely won't find out until some sort of epilogue that explains what happens to everyone.

Thanks for reading,

-Col. Bogey


	27. Chapter 20: Summoning Sages

-I don't own Naruto. Naruto was created by Kishimoto, please support the official release. Thanks for reading my first attempt at fan fiction-

 _Italics are thoughts. -Italics inside hyphens are the setting-_

* * *

- _Kumogakure-_

Yugito and Naruto stood outside the entrance to A's office, nervous as to how he would react.

Just as Darui had predicted, they had been quickly recalled to Kumo. With no Jinchuuriki up for grabs keeping Kumo's own ultimate weapons in the field was unnecessary. Having just arrived back in the village, they had been directed to immediately go debrief with the Raikage.

Upon arriving outside A's office, Mabui had welcomed the two jinchuuriki back to Kumo, and informed them that A was currently meeting with a representative of the Daimyo, and that he would be with them as soon as the meeting was over. So, the two jinchuuriki had been forced to wait for over an hour, before a civilian noble had walked out of the office. 10 minutes later, Mabui thanked the two of them for their patience, and informed them that the Raikage was ready to see them.

"Raikage-sama." Both Jinchuuriki said as they entered the room, heads bowed in respect. Normally, Naruto would be much more emotive, but then again, he had never failed a mission before. He was trying to be as humble and respectful as possible, lest he be on the receiving end of A's legendary rage.

"Ah, Naruto, Yugito, welcome home you two, come in and sit down." A said, looking up from a document he was reading. "I was just finishing re-reading Darui's report about everything you two were involved with in the invasion." The two jinchuuriki exchanged a nervous look as they sat down. Not only had Darui sent a report summarizing all of their activities, but A had read it multiple times.

"First of all, let's start with acquiring Kekkai Genkai." A said, "On that front, excellent work. The Hozuki and Hoshigaki Clan members you captured have both been...convinced...to rebuild their clans here in the Land of Lightning. You've contributed to our village becoming stronger, and for that you should be congratulated."

For a brief moment, the two jinchuuriki breathed a sigh of relief, A didn't seem to be focusing on their failure to return with Utakata and/or the six tails. However, that feeling of relief did not last long, because after pausing for a moment, almost as if he was intentionally making them feel comfortable before putting the screws on them, he asked: "Now, tell me what happened with the Six Tails?"

Both Naruto and Yugito visibly tensed, and both were silent for an awkwardly long moment. Yugito, feeling the responsibility of being the team leader, and also feeling rather protective of her younger-brother-figure, was the one who broke the silence. "Well...there isn't really much to say beyond what was in the report, Raikage-sama. Konoha beat us to it. I take full responsibility for our failure."

"While I appreciate your willingness to protect your subordinate, I wasn't specifically wondering about your failure. I was wondering about the appearance of the two Akatsuki members. Do you think they came away from the encounter suspecting Naruto's true status?" A said, his tone growing more intense as he spoke.

"I'm not sure, Raikgae-sama. It's possible they did, but then again, I'm well known as a jinchuuriki. It is possible that they may have simply chalked up any indicators of nearby jinchuuriki to my presence." Yugito responded, once again relieved that their leader seemed to want to focus on something other than her team's failure.

A sat quietly for a few minutes, thinking, and looking over the reports, before asking for some clarification. "The report that you gave to Darui," he said, waving a document in front of him, "Are you sure that you wrote down every single thing you heard the two Akatsuki members say?"

"Hai, Raikage-sama, not only what I heard, but I also ran that portion of the report past Naruto and asked him to add on anything he might have heard" The Two-Tailed Jinchuuriki responded, confident in her ability to write a thorough report. After all, she'd been a jonin for a long time now. Hardly a single mission went by without its fair share of paperwork afterwards, she was used to having to take note of the smallest possible details for inclusion in her post mission analysis.

"Hm..." A continued to sit and think, as Naruto and Yugito waited, full of anxiety about what his decision would be. Finally, he pushed a button on his desk, activating an intercom that allowed him to communicate with Mabui. "Mabui, get my brother in here ASAP" he spoke into a small microphone. "Hai! Right away, Raikage-sama" came the response from a speaker.

"And have refreshments for three sent in, who knows how long it will take B to get here." A said, before depressing the button that controlled the intercom. He then turned his attention back to the paperwork he had to do. The message to Naruto and Yugito was clear: They would continue the discussion when Kumo's third jinchuuriki was present. In the meantime, the two of them were free to eat, and do what the wished as long as they didn't disturb his work.

Shortly, two cups of green tea, a glass of water, the Raikage would drink tea in diplomatic ceremonies, but wasn't really a fan, and avoided it unless necessary, along with some fluffy pastries were brought into the office by a random attendant. Naruto and Yugito ate and drank in awkward silence, wile A seemed focused on other documents.

About twenty minutes later, Killer B walked into the room, boisterous as always: "Yo, what up bro? Oh! Naruto! Yugito! How'd Kiri go?!" Naruto couldn't help but smile, as much as his sensei's quasi-rap like way of speech was annoying at times, B's students all found it at least a little endearing. "It's good to see you again, B-sensei!" the blond Yotsuki responded, softly, careful not to disturb A.

"Ah, good, you're here B, how goes the mission?" "Not much to say, Rai-ka-ge. The Iwa-nin ain't lyin', they don't seem to be spyin'." "Iwa-nin?" Naruto asked in confusion. _Great...I'm gonna have to keep wearing my disguise. I was so looking forward to ditching these contacts and getting my hair back to normal,_ he inwardly complained.

"Due to some...complications in our relationship with the Stone Village, there is a delegation of Iwa jonin stationed here permanently, and the Tsuchikage's granddaughter is part of a team that delivers classified messages back and forth between here and their village. I take it I don't need to remind you to be careful around them, right, Naruto?" A asked, getting a nod from Naruto, who had something else on his mind: _Kurotsuchi-chan's in town huh? Awesome, I can't wait to catch up with her!_

"Anyways, getting back to the matter at hand." A said, adopting a stiffer posture. His voice also got deeper, and he sounded more authoritative. To his subordinates, including B, this tone and posture was well known: the decision was final, and there was to be no arguing with it. "Given the recent Akatsuki activity, I'm banning the three of you from any travel outside of the Land of Lighting, and from traveling solo. Each of you will have an escort team with you whenever you leave the village."

All three of the jinchuuriki were crushed, but even the legendary Killer B knew better than to argue with his brother when he got like this. "B, Yugito, you still can move freely around our nation, so long as you are accompanied, and can continue to take missions so long as you remain within the borders of the Land of Lightning." A then turned to the youngest, and weakest of the three.

"Naruto, you are to have an escort team with you anytime you are outside of the Yotsuki Compound, and are temporarily suspended from the active duty list. You are herby confined to Kumo unless you are in the company of either B or Yugito, and will only be allowed to travel to the Genbu, the realm of your clan's summons, or the valley my brother likes to train in."

Naruto slouched, clearly upset at the restrictions placed upon him, even if a part of him understood them. A just kept going, he didn't like seeing Naruto upset, but this was for the boy's own safety. "There are only two ways for you to have these restrictions rescinded: 1. You can become a perfect Jinchuuriki.

2\. You can become a sage. Once you accomplish one of those, I'll promote you to jonin, and put you on same restrictions as Yugito and my brother."

For a brief period, Naruto was motionless, and everyone was concerned that he was taking the news poorly, but when he brought his head up, and his eyes met A's, it was obvious to everyone that a fire had been lit under the blonde jinchuuriki. "Ok then. I'll get started right away." Naruto responded, before turning to his old teacher: "Hey, B-sensei, can we go train in the valley like we used to?"

Seeing Naruto's look of sheer determination, and having always had the biggest soft spot for Naruto of anyone besides his adopted parents, B took no time to think, before responding: "Naruto I see your fire, I feel your desire, if to strength is to what you aspire, then to our training grounds let us retire!"

The two of them were just about to march out of the door, when a large and powerful hand grabbed each of them by the collar of their shirts, and yanked them back into their seats. "Now hold on a minute!" A barked, furious that they had tried to leave without being dismissed, he was the Raikage, people couldn't just waltz out of his office whenever they wanted.

"Naruto, I'm thrilled that you want to begin training to become a perfect jinchuuriki, but did I not just get done talking about us taking precautions?!" A then took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. He couldn't blame them for being eager to start. The idea of having three perfect jinchuuriki in the village was enough that even the Raikage could barely contain his excitement, but he wasn't about to ignore the possible dangers.

"You won't be able to leave for training until I get an escort team set up. In addition, we'll need to work out the logistics of that team, food, supplies, swapping them out with other teams if you are going to be there a while. It's not just the two of you that will be galavanting off to do your thing. I expect you'll be here in the village for a few days, especially since a couple of people that I want on your escort team are on missions."

He then gave both of them a stern look, clearly making both of them uncomfortable in the process. Message received: Leaving before A gave them the ok would result in a very painful experience once they got back to the village. Assuming A didn't personally show up and drag them back himself.

"Naruto," Yugito said, intervening before things got out of hand. "Why don't you spend a couple days with your parents? I'm sure they must be worried sick, seeing how their only child has been in a war zone."

"That is an excellent idea." A added. "They have been very worried, but I told them you'd be back today, so I believe they are expecting you.

"I...yeah, I should probably go check in at home." Naruto said, suddenly feeling very guilty, he had not been very good about communicating with his parents while he was away. They had sent him things via the owls at least once a week, but he had not been the best about writing back to them.

"Before you do, I just need to make one thing clear." A said, "The Tsuchikage's granddaughter has been rather persistent in asking when you would be back. She obviously wants to speak to you. I know you consider her a friend, but I must remind you that letting Iwa in on your heritage is a terrible idea, and no matter how important to her you may be, she won't keep things secret."

"Of course. I know to keep my mouth shut. Is Kurotsuchi-chan in the village right now?" "No." A responded, but if Iwa holds to form she'll likely be back before you leave for training." "Gotcha. Don't worry, Raikage-sama, I can handle it. May I be dismissed now?"

"Get out of here." Naruto practically raced out of the Raikage's office, heading for the Yotsuki Compound. He left behind A, Yugito, and B, who couldn't help themselves from smiling at his antics, all three viewed him as family.

- _Three Days Later-_

After the initial joy and excitement of being back home wore off, Naruto quickly grew tired of the new restrictions placed upon him. There was a genin team stationed outside the Yotsuki Compound 24/7, each member watching one of the exits from the compound, and anytime Naruto left, he would quickly be followed by what ever team was on duty.

The fact that it was genin following him was perhaps a little insulting, but then again they were still in Kumo. The likely hood that the Akatsuki would attack him in broad daylight, in the middle of a shinobi village, was slim. Most likely, the genin had instructions to just rush to summon reinforcements if something did happen. Naruto had no doubt that his escorts outside of the village would be much more powerful.

Still, it meant that even mundane things like going to get lunch at his favorite ramen stand, or training at the village training grounds, were now monitored by shinobi. If Naruto didn't know any better, he would think that his loyalty to the village was in question.

Given that he didn't really enjoy being followed around, he had generally stayed in the Yotsuki Clan Compound, catching up with family members who were not still participating in the invasion. He would train for about three hours a day, including lunch at Takahashi ramen, but other than that, he stayed indoors, making the genin teams assigned to watch him very bored. Today, however, was going to be different. Not only Naruto, but his parents and his uncle, had all been summoned to see A, and were told that the topic of discussion was the next phase of Naruto's training.

Not that he wasn't enjoying being with his adoptive parents, he had missed them, and his mother in particular was going out of her way to spoil him at every possible moment, now that her "baby boy" was back home. Still, he was ready to move forward.

When they arrived outside A's office, the Yotsuki quartet were shown into a nearby conference room, where they found Yugito, B, Dodai, X, and the Raikage himself waiting for them. Clearly, they were in for a major discussion.

As they seated themselves, A began speaking: "Thank you for being here, everyone. In light of our new policies regarding the safety and security of our jinchuuriki, we're here to discuss what Naruto can do to progress in his training and be able to continue to serve Kumo and advance in his career."

"It would seem that the best option would be to pursue his jinchuuriki training further. If he is able to get to the same level of mastery that B-sama and Yugito-san display he will be a formidable opponent." X stated, offering his opinion on the matter.

"Actually, I disagree. Naruto-san currently has an element of surprise about him, in that his Jinchuuriki status is a closely guarded secret, unlike B-sama and Yugito-san, who make no attempt to hide their status, and are well known. If Naruto-san were able to convince the owls to train him as a sage, he could become well known for that, but keep his tenant secret." Dodai said, contradicting X.

"While that is promising, it makes two major assumptions." Yugito said. "First of all, we can't guarantee Naruto's secret remains safe. If one of the two Akatsuki members we encountered in the Land of Water was a sensory type ninja, it is very possible they are already aware of Naruto's jinchuuriki status, or at least have marked him as someone that the Akatsuki should keep an eye on."

"And the other assumption is that the owls would be willing to train me, right?" Naruto asked, earning a nod from his "big sister."

"Yotsuki-dono, do you think the owls would be willing to train Naruto in the Sage arts?" A asked, aiming his question at Gennai, Naruto's uncle and the head of the clan.

"It is difficult to say, Raikage-sama." he responded. "It has been a few generations since there has been an owl sage, and it is possible that they are eager to have one again. At the same time, even if they decide that they want to take someone for sage training, they may not choose Naruto."

"Why wouldn't they?" Dodai asked. "He is the perfect candidate: young, already a summoner, and cousin of the next clan head, I would think he is more desirable than any other active member of the clan."

"Again, there hasn't been a sage in a couple of generations." Gennai said. "Unlike other summoning animals, the owl clan don't particularly care if they have a sage or not. As such, they are extremely picky. Personally, as much as I believe in my nephew, I'm not sure he has enough strength or experience for the owls to find him worthy."

"Hm." A said, taking in Gennai's thoughts. "Still, it's worth checking with them, I'd like you to look into it. "As you wish, Raikage-sama. I'll bring it up with the owls."

A nodded, before turning to his brother: "B, What do you think Naruto's odds of becoming a perfect jinchuuriki are?" "It's hard to say, Raikage. If a perfect jinchuuriki you wish Naruto to be, he'll need the cooperation of the Kyuubi." B responded, his brother's disdain for his manner of speech only causing him to tone down his quasi-rap just slightly.

Before B could provoke A's rage, Yugito stepped in, taking over for the hachibi jinchuuriki. "Naruto's mastered his Bijuu Cloak form, and without the active cooperation of the Nine-Tails that's about as far as he can go. If he's ever going to take the next step, he'll need to not only have some sort of relationship with his tenant, but the two of them will need to actively cooperate."

After such a statement, there was only one logical question to ask, and X was the one who voiced it: "Naruto-san, do you have any sort of relationship with the Kyuubi no Kitsune?"

"No." Naruto responded. "The last time I spoke to it was when Yugito-san and my birth-mother's chakra helped me gain control of enough of its chakra that I could master the Bijuu-Cloak. Given that it thought I was stealing its chakra, we didn't really part of the best of terms."

"Nibi-chan tells me that Kyuubi is very stubborn. He barely seems to tolerate the other Bijuu, much less humans. Securing the Kyuubi's active cooperation on a permanent basis is going to be very difficult." Yugito said.

"With the Ni-bi, agrees the Ha-chi-bi. A stubborn and hatful he, is that fool the Kyuu-bi." B added, in yet another example of him creating an awkward sounding statement just for the purpose of rhyming. Even Naruto had to cringe at B's line.

"It sounds to me like for now there is nothing more we can do." Koshiro said, "My brother and I will speak to the owls, and perhaps B-sama and Yugito-san can speak to their tenants more, and after we have all done so, a decision can be made."

"Agreed." A said. "If the owls agree to train him, focus on that, we can worry about the Kyuubi later, our village already has two perfect jinchuuriki, we don't have any sages."

"Understood, Raikage-sama. I'll speak to the leaders of the Owl Clan tonight." Gennai said, and with an understanding in place, the meeting was quickly concluded. If the owls agreed, Naruto would train to be a sage. If they didn't, Yugito and B would try to work something out to get Naruto and his tenant to cooperate.

Of course, there was the shared space where all Bijuu and jinchuuriki could communicate with each other, and while Naruto wasn't aware of it, Yugito and B were, and used it regularly. Still, in order to continue to have the trust of Matatabi and Gyuuki, they kept its existence a closely guarded secret. If necessary though, they would use it to appeal directly to Kurama.

- _That Night, The Yotsuki Compound-_

Owls are generally nocturnal creatures, and the sentient ninja owls of the Owl Clan are no exception to that rule, so out of politeness, the Yotsuki Clan tried to summon their owl partners at night whenever possible. Of course, sometimes they had no choice but to do so during the day, but for things like meetings between the leadership of the two clans, nocturnal summons were the norm.

Gennai, the Yotsuki elders, Naruto, and his parents stood in the clan hall, preparing to summon Ichijoji and the leaders of the owl clan. With a nod from their leader, the members of the clan moved in unison. Blood was drawn, hand seals were formed, and each member of the clan who was present cast the summoning jutsu simultaneously.

For some, like Gennai, they were simply summoning their familiars. Others, like Naruto were just offering up their chakra so that other members of the owl clan, namely the sage owls, could be summoned.

With a massive poof of smoke, seven owls appeared before the members of the Yotsuki Clan. Naruto immediately recognized one of them as Ichijoji, a human sized Great Horned Owl, and leader of the owl clan. Slightly behind, and on either side of the owl leader were a snowy owl and a long eared owl, and the way his uncle greeted them, Naruto assumed they were Ichijoji's advisors and assistants.

4 of the owls stood off to the side, and were clearly much older, with white puffs of feathers where there shouldn't have been any, and older eyes. One even kept a cane underneath one of his wings. Given the amount of reverence everyone, including Ichijoji, showed to them, Naruto concluded these were the sage owls, the ones who would be training him in senjutsu, assuming he was accepted as an apprentice sage.

"Ah, Gennai-dono. Given that you've summoned the sages, I'm assuming this meeting has to do with training a sage, eeeeh?" The owl leader said, after rotating his head around as owls do, taking in his surroundings.

"Yes, Ichijoji-dono. I would like the sages to consider training my nephew." "Ah, young Naruto eeeeh? Hm. It has been sometime since one of your clan has been trained in our arts, and my daughter reports that Naruto is a talented and fair summoner. Very well, if the sages approve of him I will allow Naruto to travel to my clan's realm for training."

"Thank you, Ichijoji-dono." Gennai said bowing to the owl leader, with Naruto and his parents following suit. "Don't be so quick to thank me." The owl leader said, "winning the approval of the sages is no easy task." As he spoke, he raised a wing in the direction of the sages, indicating that his part in the conversation was over.

Gennai motioned for Naruto to follow him, and the two of them approached the sages. One of the four, an elderly pygmy owl, greeted them as they approached. "Gennai-dono, Naruto-san. I greet you. My name is Ayumu, eldest of the owl sages. My companions are Chika" He said, pointing to a screech owl, "Gorou," he said, pointing to a barn owl, "and Tsukiko." He motioned to the final sage, a great horned owl like Ichijoji. "We would be happy to train you to be a sage, assuming you pass our tests, Naruto-san. It's been too long since one of the Yotsuki visited the Yorushinrin and learned our arts."

"Thank you very much, Ayumu-sama." Naruto said, bowing to the elderly sage. "I look forward to proving my worthiness. When can we begin?"

"Oh? Eager to start are you? I like that." Ayumu turned to Gennai: "Does the Yotsuki Clan still maintain an outpost in the Unraikyo?"

"The building is still there," Gennai responded, "but it has been some time since we've had anyone stationed there. Raikage-sama has essentially designated the Unraikyo as the personal training ground of his brother, and we've allowed him privacy there."

 _Wait...our clan owns land in B-sensei's valley?! What!_ Naruto thought, containing his curiosity, he didn't want to make a bad impression on the sages by having an outburst. "Most disturbing." The sage responded, "was that land not given to your clan by the first Raikage in exchange for your loyalty? And now the current Raikage wants it for the exclusive use of his brother?"

"That's not exactly the situation." Gennai responded. "We still own the land, and have never been prohibited from being there or using it, but B-sama is a jinchuuriki, and as such his training can get quite disruptive. As such we give him privacy. Still, he generally stays in his half of the valley, and always asks permission before setting foot on the part of the valley that we own."

"Ah, I see, that is better." Ayumu agreed, before turning back to Naruto. "Summon us again at the Yotsuki outpost in the Unraikyo when you are ready for your trials to begin." Without another word, but with a poof of smoke, the four sages disappeared back to their homes.

"It seems the sages have spoken, eeeh?" Ichijoji said, "I wish you the best of luck, Naruto-san. Please summon my daughter and notify us when you leave Kumo for the Unraikyo. Until next time, Gennai-dono, Koushiro-dono, Sora-san, Naruto-san." Then, just like the sages, the other three owls canceled the summoning.

- _Meanwhile, Elsewhere in Kumo-_

Yugito and Killer B sat across from each other, completely oblivious to the word around them, deep in meditation, manifesting their consciousness in that shared realm that only the Bijuu and their hosts can access. While relatively easy for the beasts, it was an incredibly difficult thing for human jinchuuriki to do. However, due to both of their cooperative relationships with their tenants, both Yugito and B had been there before, and were able to return.

B, the elder and more experienced with all things Bijuu, was the first to arrive. Yugito, as B's former student in all things Jinchuuriki, wasn't too far behind him.

The realm was empty outside of the two of them and their Bijuu, who were already present, and deep in a conversation about their hosts. For as much as the Bijuu regularly said that they detested most humans, they seemed to take an unnatural curiosity in their host's romantic lives. "I'm quite excited for Yugito-chan to have a mate." Matatabi was saying. "Darui-san seems like an alright fellow, at least as far as humans go, and certainly partnering with the future Raikage won't hurt things. What about your host?"

"B is all talk. He's an idiot when it comes to women." Gyuki responding, causing B to launch into a rap tirade about how he was great with women, Alerting both Bijuu to the presence of their tenants.

Completely ignoring B's rant, Gyuki greeted the two humans. "Ah, good, you're both here. Let's get right to business then."

"I completely agree, we need to figure out a way for Naruto and the Kyuubi to cooperate with each other." Yugito said, also ignoring B, who was still mid-rant.

"Our brother is a hateful being, particularly toward your species." Matatabi said.

"And for the most part, I agree with him. Present company, Naruto, and a few others excluded, Humans are despicable." Gyuki added. Just because he liked B and the other Kumo jinchuuriki didn't mean he wasn't bitter about his past dealings with humans.

"That's beside the point though, Nii-chan." Matatabi chided. "True, most humans are greedy and just view us as tools, but Yugito-chan, B-san, and Naruto-san clearly don't. It's in our best interest to find a way for our brother and Naruto-san to learn to coexist like we have with our current hosts. If for no other reason than that we don't want know what these Akatsuki want with us."

"Better the enemy you know than the one you don't." Yugito said.

"I suppose you're right. Cooperating with a jailer is better than whatever the other humans want." Gyuki said, ultimately coming to the same conclusion, before turning to his still irate host and punching and yelling at the still ranting B in a way that Yugito had only seen A do "Enough with your nonsense, B!"

As B recovered from the blow, finally keeping his mouth shut, Gyuki turned back to Yugito and Matatabi, continuing the conversation as if nothing had happened. "I suppose if we were able to get both Naruto and our brother into this space, we could potentially force the two of them to come to some sort of agreement. Still, there is a problem."

"Our brother is a stubborn and prideful being, he won't just yield. Naruto-san will have to prove that he is powerful enough to earn our brother's respect." Matatabi said, clarifying exactly what the problem was. "He's nowhere near close enough right now."

"I think the best idea is to let Naruto focus on sage training for now. If he masters it, then we can try to bring him and the Kyuubi togeter, in the meantime the four of us will plan for that eventuality."

"A fine idea, Yugito-chan. If that's all for today, than can we get out of here? Gyuki's jailer annoys me." Yugito shot a taunting glance towards B, who was still sulking, before turning back to the giant blue cat. "I agree, the four of us will reconvene later. Gyuki-san, B, see you later."

The two-tails and her host quickly disappeared from the realm, leaving just the giant Hachibi and his now pouting host. "For all your bravado, you know I'm right. You're terrible with female humans." The Gyuki said, offering one last taunt before he too disappeared from the realm.

 _-Several Days Later, on the way to the Unraikyo-_

A small group of Kumo ninja were moving swiftly through the mountains that separated the village from the valley where the Yotsuki Clan owned land. Among them were Koushiro Yotsuki, officially there as the clan's representative, his son Naruto, and Naruto's escorts: Killer B, Team Samui, who had only returned to the village just two days prior, recalled from the war zone especially to serve as Naruto's escorts, and Team J, fellow members of the "Cloud 9."

While most of the members of the group were talkative, especially the recently recalled Team Samui, Naruto himself was mostly silent. His mood wasn't necessarily sad or depressed, but there was clearly a lot on his mind, so after being reunited with him, his old genin teammates and academy classmates had left him alone...for a while.

But as they reached the outskirts of the Unraikyo, Karui and Omoi stepped in, not wanting their friend to have to go through what ever was troubling him alone. Still, he did not speak, but the smile he gave to his two friends told them that he at least appreciated what they were trying to do.

Finally, the group reached the Yotsuki lands, and in the middle, a building that could only be described as a small fortress. Dusty and not in the best shape due to having been abandoned for several years, the building was nonetheless an impressive sight. It was built into one of the tall stone spires that were common in the valley.

The group settled into their rooms in the structure, unpacking supplies and giving the place a thorough dusting.

That night, sitting together in the room Naruto and Omoi would be sharing, Karui and Omoi finally got Naruto to open up about what was troubling him. It turned out that Naruto wasn't sad or depressed, just confused, and unsure how to proceed.

Two days prior, Kurotsuchi and finally been reunited with "Z-kun." Only to be dismayed that he would be leaving again so soon, so she quickly made Naruto promise to take her out on his last night in town, to catch up. Not thinking of it as a date, Naruto had agreed.

The ensuing evening had started pleasantly enough, but had quickly turned into a disaster. Kurotsuchi had gotten incredibly drunk, and in an alcohol induced tirade, had professed her affections for Naruto, before trying to kiss him. Naruto had resisted, not wanting to take advantage of a drunk woman, but that only crushed the drunken Iwa kunoichi, who took it as a general rejection of her feelings.

Naruto was upset at himself for hurting his friend, and was confused. He wasn't sure his thoughts were romantically. Karui was immediately sympathetic, and took his side, only in part due to an agreement she had made with Ino Yamanaka to try to get Naruto and Tenten together, unaware that Ino had a similar agreement with Naruto to set her and Choji Akimichi up.

Omoi took a more neutral stance, it wasn't his business after all, but he noted that Kurotsuchi's affection for Naruto had been kind of obvious since before the end of the chunin exams. He should have expected her to assume the evening had been a date.

The night ended with Naruto still feeling confused, but overall much better. No matter what, his friends had his back. He'd have a decision to make at some point.

- _The Next Night-_

As the sun set on their first full day in the Yotsuki Clan Lands, Naruto's father and his escorts gathered around to watch him summon the owl elders for the first time. Instead of all four of the owls appearing, only two appeared amidst the smoke. Ayumu, the pygmy owl that had done all the talking for the sages last time, and Chika, the elderly screech owl.

"Ah, greetings Koushiro-san, Naruto-san. We've been expecting you." Ayumu said, offering a slight bow to Naruto's father, who was after all the deputy head of the Yotsuki Clan. "I take it the others are some sort of escort?" "That's correct, Ayumu-sama. B-sensei is my teacher, Omoi and Karui are my teammates, and J-sensei's students are former classmates of mine. Their job is to keep an eye on me while I'm out of the village." Naruto said eagerly introducing his friends.

"I see. They are welcome for Chika's test, but starting tomorrow they won't be allowed to witness the rest of your trials." Ayumu said, getting several sad looks in response, though no one protested, unwilling to jeopardize Naruto's training by doing so.

The Screech owl then approached Naruto for the first time, making a very slight bow as it did so. "Good evening, Yotsuki-san. I am Chika. We owls are viewed very differently in various human cultures. The trials you will face will reflect these portrayals, and see if you are capable of personifying the various mythologies. Based on your results, we may or may not accept you for sage training."

"Does that mean I can pass all of them and not be accepted?" Naruto asked. "Yes. In the same way that you can fail all of them and still be accepted, though the likelihood of that scenario is incredibly low." Ayumu responded.

 _Hmm...just like the chunin exam finals then. It's more about how I perform then wether or not I actually pass the tests._ "All right, I'm ready for my first test then, Ayumu-sama, Chika-sama."

"Hm...very good. In your own culture how are owls viewed?" Chika asked, "and I'm not talking about how the Yotsuki view owls, since your clan is biased by your close partnership with us. How do other humans from this part of theworld view owls?"

Naruto had to think for a minute, since he always knew them as fierce fighters, capable of wise insight, but Chika had a valid point, the Yotsuki view of the largely nocturnal birds was highly skewed. Eventually, an old story he heard once popped into his head.

 _Supposedly, long ago, there was a man who was trying to hide from his enemies. This man was being pursued by the Hyuga. The man saw an owl sitting on a tree brach, and hid in a bush underneath the branch to catch his breath for a minute, however he ended up being stuck there since his pursuers arrived quicker than expected. Despite the fact that the Hyuga were tracking him with the Byakugan, they never found him. The man credited his good fortune to the owl._

"Owls are said to be a positive omen. Seeing one is said to bring one good luck." Naruto finally responded. "Indeed." Chika said, nodding in response. "That is how we are viewed in your part of the world. In other parts we are viewed quite differently, as you will find out. Now then, for your trial. Somewhere on this property is a portal to our forest. If you are able to pass through it within 12 hours, you will have passed the first trial. We shall be waiting for you, Naruto-san." Chika said, before offering a quick bow and then poofing out the building.

"Perhaps Chika is getting a bit too old." Ayumu said, chuckling to himself as he did so, "he forgot to mention that you can't have any help. I look forward to welcoming you to our home, Naruto-san." The pygmy owl then followed his colleague, and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Even if I could help, I wouldn't know where to begin. I don't even think your uncle knows that there's a portal here, and he's the head of the clan!" Koshiro said, breaking the silence that had permeated the area.

"Right then, I've just gotta get a move on." Naruto said, making a familiar hand gesture: "Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" 10 Narutos spread out, each heading for different rooms in the house, looking for where the portal could be.

- _10 hours later-_

Naruto was exhausted, having not slept at all that night. It was early morning, and there were just two hours left for him to make the deadline. Naruto and his clones had scoured the building with a fine toothed comb, and found nothing.

Now, they were pouring over the exterior. The original Naruto was in a small courtyard/observation deck that was on the top floor of the outpost. This small area had a couple of small trees and other plants, something that was out of the ordinary for the desolate landscape of the Unraikyo, but the courtyard had been conceived with two purposes in mind. The first was to be able to survey the surrounding area, but the second was to provide a little bit of nature, a shelter and sanctuary in the middle of a ninja clan's outpost, that was itself in the middle of a wasteland.

Taking advantage of the relative calm, Naruto sat on one of the benches, racking his brain for anything he could have missed. Periodically, a clone would dispel, and Naruto would look over their memories, double checking that they hadn't simply just overlooked a possible clue before he made a replacement clone.

After an hour had passed, Naruto had no further memories to sort through, so with only an hour left he decided to double check the courtyard, even though both he and two clones had been through it during the past 11 hours.

Looking out at his surroundings, Naruto was temporarily distracted by one of the two trees. It had a lone branch sticking out horizontally, and happened to have a small shrub underneath it. _Huh. A bush under a tree, just like in that story about the owl...wait a minute_...

He stood, and moved to investigate. Sure enough, in the dirt underneath the shrub, there was a small metal surface. On the surface was a carving of the face of an owl. _Jackpot!_ Naruto thought. Time was running out, so he quickly dispelled all of his clones, making just one to go notify his father that he was heading to the owl realm, and with the clone on its way, he turned his attention back to the slab.

First, he tried lifting it, and found he was unable to. Then, he tried destroying it with a jutsu, again, nothing. Finally, Naruto channeled chakra into it. The owl face turned sky blue, and the whole slab seemed to expand until it was wide enough to fit a human. Then, the slab disappeared, leaving a tunnel.

Just as the slab faded into nothing, Naruto felt the familiar sensation of his clone dispelling, his father had been notified, and wished him good luck. _Here goes nothing._ Naruto thought, and unsure of what was waiting for him on the other side, he jumped into the hole.

-End of Chapter-

* * *

A couple of notes:

As the Owl Clan is my own original content, so too is their home realm, which is mentioned here, the Yorushinrin, which, according to Google Translate, means night forest. I think that is the appropriate name for such a place, and I imagine it being something like Mirkwood from _Lord of The Rings_ , only with no elves, and giant owls instead of giant spiders. We'll be there next chapter.

Unraikyo is actually a canon location. In English it is known as the Valley of Clouds and Lightning, and is where Killer B fought Taka. According to Narutopedia, the First Raikage (the guy who looks like the guitarist Jimi Hendrix) granted land in the valley to the Yotsuki Clan in return for their loyalty to Kumo.

The owl trials are all going to have something to do with mythology surrounding Owls. A quick survey of the mythology/symbolism section of the wikipedia page for owls reveals three common themes:

Good Luck (Asia)

Bad Luck/Death (Some Native American/First Nation and African Cultures)

Wisdom (Western Culture)

The story of the man being pursued by the Hyuga is a modified version of a tale I got from the wikipedia page on Owls. Obviously, I adapted it to fit into the shinobi world.

No questions this time around, but there were a comment I felt like responding to:

C: I'm glad you had Konoha gain another Jinchuuriki, Kumo already seems too powerful, this helps balance it out.

R: Agreed, though problems come again with Naruto learning sage mode. Actually, part of the delay on this chapter was me not wanting to proceed any further until I had nailed down how to address this situation. The potential for Kumo too far and away surpass all the other villages is there, and that makes things tricky. There will be some more Narrative elements that help prevent Kumo from becoming all powerful, and this Sage training arc is also most likely the penultimate major plot element/arc in the story, which should also help contain Kumo's power.

As always, thanks for reading,

-Col. Bogey.


End file.
